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Book. 



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APHORISMS OF WISDOM; 

OR, A Vv "'" 

COMPLETE COLLECTION 

OF THE MOST 

CclefrrateH Pvoberfcg, 

IN THE 

English, Scotch, French, Spanish, Italian, 

AND OTHER LANGUAGES; 

ANCIENT AND MODERN, 

COLLECTED AND DIGESTED. 



By THOMAS V FULLER, M. D. 



^%v^%/%%>* ■*•%.*. 



TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

RAMSAY'S COLLECTION 

OF 

SCOTTISH PROVERBS. 

NEW EDITION. 



GLASGOW: 

PRINTED BY R. CHAPMAN, TRONGATE, 
FOR R. & D. MALCOLM. 

1814. 



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3 



ORIGINAL PREFACE. 



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AFTER my two Books of right Thinking and 
Acting, a third might naturally follow of Speaking; 
but this being a subject of great extent, and very 
numerous particulars, all I dare undertake, is to give 
you a Collection of such remarkable Sentences and 
Sayings, as are usual and useful in conversation and 
business. 

All of us forget more than we remember, and there- 
fore it hath been my constant custom to note down 
and record whatever I thought of myself, or received 
from men, or books, worth preserving. 

Among other things, I wrote out Apothegms, 
Maxims, Proverbs, acute Expressions, vulgar Say- 
ings, &c. 

And having at length collected more than ever any 
Englishman has before me, I have ventured to send 
them forth, to try their fortune among the people. 

In ancient times, before methodical learning had 
got footing in the nations, and instructive treatises 
were written, the observations that wise men made 
from experience, were used to be gathered and sum- 
med up into brief and comprehensive sentences, which 
being so contrived, as to have something remarkable 
in their expressions, might be easily remembered, 
and brought into use on occasions: these are called 
Adagies or Maxims. 



IV 



Also the men of business, and the common people, 
that they might in their affairs and conversation sig- 
nify and communicate their sense and meaning in 
short, with smartness or with pleasantness, fell into 
customary little forms of words, and trite speeches, 
which are called Proverbs and Common Sayings. 

The former of these are from judgment, and are 
used by men of understanding and seriousness ; the 
other are from wit, and are accommodated to the vul- 
gar, and men of mirth. 

I conceive it is not needful for me accurately to 
determine, which are to be called Adagies and Pro- 
verbs, nor nicely to distinguish the one from the 
other ; all that I take upon me here to do, is only to 
throw together a vast confused heap of unsorted 
things, old and new, which you may pick over and 
make use of, according to your judgment and pleas- 
ure. 

Many of these are only plain bare expressions, to 
be taken literally in their proper meaning, others 
have something of the obscure and surprise, which 
as soon as understood, renders them pretty and no- 
table. 

They used to be taken from history, fables, parables, 
persons of note, places, &c and consist of Allusions, 
Allegories, Metaphors, Similes, Hyperboles, Ironies, 
&c. &c. 

The use of them was very old, as is manifest from 
that of David, 1 Sam. xxiv. As saith the Proverb 
of the ancients. 

All the Eastern nations, the Tartars, Turks, Ara- 
bians, Persians, and all the people of Asia, have ever 



had their remarkable sentences, proverbial, signifi- 
cant, and pleasant sayings, which are peculiar to 
each, and oftentimes express the genius, disposition, 
wisdom, and wit of that people. 

As to the Hebrews, the Sacred Scriptures give us 
many Proverbs, even our Saviour himself used them, 
Luke iv. 23. Physician, heal thyself. 

As to the Grecians, Erasmus presents us with a 
wonderful large catalogue of them, both Philosophers 
and Poets, that were Gnomologists ; and the seven 
wise men of Greece were famous only for one single 
symbol apiece. 

As to our moderns, the Italians, Spanish, French, 
Germans, Scots, English, &c. have made Collections 
of their peculiar national Adagies and Proverbs. 

It is a matter of no small pains and diligence 
(whatever lazy, snarling persons may think) to pick 
up so many independent particulars, as I have here 
done. 

And it is no trifling or useless thing neither, it 
being what many of the most learned and wisest men 
in the world have in all ages employed themselves 
upon. 

The son of Syrac will be had in everlasting re- 
membrance for his Ecclesiasticus. 

But above all, that most glorious of kings, and 
wisest of men, Solomon, wrote by Divine appoint- 
ment and inspiration, Proverbs, Precepts, and Coun- 
sels. 

Of the Greeks I have spoken before. 
Among the .Romans, even the great Julius Cesar 
himself, who by reason of the important aifairs con- 



VI 



cerning government and wars, was the busiest man 
in the world, stole time to write a book of Remark- 
able Sayings, which is unfortunately lost. 

Valerius Maximus wrote, ex professo, Dictorum 
factorumque memorabilium, lib. 9. 

Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, wrote De diver- 
sorum jocis et dicteriis. 

But to come nearer our own times, Erasmus took 
infinite pains himself, in compiling his book of Ada- 
gies, and it is augmented by the works of several 
other celebrated persons in it named, and it was 
(though of use to none but scholars, and a large 
volume) so well received, that it had twelve editions 
in his life-time. 

But of late, besides foreigners, divers of our own 
countrymen have thought it richly worth their time 
and pains to pick up, and publish Proverbs and 
Apothegms. 

The great Lord Bacon hath left vis a very small 
collection of Apothegms; and saith, certainly they 
are of excellent use, they are mucrones verborum, 
pointed speeches : they serve to be interlaced in con- 
tinued speech, they serve upon particular occasions ; 
if you take out the kernel of them, and make them 
your own. 

Our excellent Mr Ray, with the assistance of 
many ingenious and learned friends, which he men- 
tions by name, published a celebrated Book of Pro- 
verbs. 

And about ten years ago, James Kelly, M. A. 
published a curious Collection of Scottish Proverbs, 
explained and made intelligible. 



Vll 



These things being undeniably so, no man ought 
to despise, ridicule, or any ways discourage the dili- 
gence and kindness of those that take pains to bring 
home to others without price, those things of profit 
and pleasure. 

I picked up these Sentences and Sayings at several 
times, according as they casually occurred, and most 
of them so long ago, that I cannot remember the par- 
ticulars, and am now (by reason of great age and ill 
sight) utterly unable to review them, otherwise I 
would have struck out all such as are not fit for the 
company, or are indecent to be spoke in the presence 
of wise, grave, virtuous, modest, well bred people. 

Before I end, I think it not amiss to add the fol- 
lowing remarks. 

1. Aristotle (as one hath it) observes, that Moral 
Sayings, and Proverbial Speeches, are to be understood 
or/ 7toXv, to be usually and for the most part true, 
and that there may be several exceptions made, and 
instances given to the contrary, yet this does not in- 
fringe the general truth of them ; but if in frequent 
common expressions they be found true, this is all 
the truth that is expected in them, because it is all 
that is intended by them. 

2. Adagies and Proverbs are to be accounted only 
as sauce to relish meat with, but not as substantial 
dishes to make a meal on, and therefore are never 
good, but upon proper subjects and occasions, where 
they pay serve to give a lively force and pleasant 
turn, to what is said, but to apply them wrong, or 
crack them off* too thick, like Sancha in Don Quixote, 
is abominably foppish, ridiculous, and nauseous. 



Viil 

3. Because verses are easier got by heart, and stick 
faster in the memory than prose, and because the or 
dinary people use to be much taken with the clinking 
of syllables, many of our proverbs are so formed, and 
very often put into false rhymes ; as, A stitch in time 
may save nine, Many a little will make a mickle. This 
little artifice, I imagine, was contrived purposely to 
make the sense abide the longer in the memory, by 
reason of its oddness and archness. 

4. I use the alphabetical order of the initial words, 
not as any help to the reader, but to myself, that I 
might the better avoid repetitions, which otherwise 
would be extremely difficult to do, in the writing out 
of so many thousand sentences at different times. 

And now, having premised what I thought proper 
and expedient, I shall close this epistle with the fol- 
lowing Epigram, communicated to me by a friend. 

Qvm bene senserunt, bene quce dixere Priores, 

Transmissa ad nostros obtinuere dies. 
Communis vitse nihil observatur in usu, 

De quo non Veterum Dicta cavere.monent. 
Hine ortum vulgata suum Proverbia dueunt, 

Voceque pro Populi multa per 8eva valent. 
Ssepe sub antiquo pressum, 1 sub simplice Verbo, 

Quod juvet et pariter pungat, acumen habent. 
• Ssepe incompositis pedibus Sententia ludit, 

Disparibus rhjthmis, et rudiore metro. 
Urbano risu nunc mordet apertius, et nunc 

Sub ficta occulitur rusticitate Lepos. 
Usque sibi constans Ratio pronunciat omni, 

Quae recte sentit, tempore, gente, loco. 

London, 1732. 



COLLECTION 



OP 



PEOVERBS, 



J\. BAD Jack may have as bad a Jill. 

A bad padlock invites a picklock. 

A bad thing never dies. 

A bad shift is better than no shift. 

A bad workman never gets a good tool. 

A barber learneth to shave by shaving of fools. 

A barley-corn is better than a diamond to a cock. 

A basket-justice will do justice, right or wrong. 

A bean in liberty is better than a comfit in prison. - 

A beggar payeth a benefit with a louse. 

A bellyful is a belly ful, whether it be meat or drink. 

A bird is known by its note, and a man by his talk. 

A bird may be caught with a snare, that will not be shot. 

A bit and a knock, as men feed apes. 

A black hen will lay a white egg. 

A black man is a jewel in a fair woman's eye. 

A 



2 

A blind man will be glad to see it. 

A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass. 

A blunt edge will do it, where sometimes a sharp ax will not. 

A blow with a reed makes a noise, but hurts not. 

A boaster and a liar are cousin-germans. 

A bold fellow is the jest of wise men, and the idol of fools. 

A book that is shut is but a block. 

A brave retreat is a brave exploit. 

A bridle for the tongue is a necessary piece of furniture. 

A broad hat does not always cover a venerable head. 

A broken friendship may be soldered, but will never be 

sound. 
A broken glass cannot be hurt. 
A Burston horse, and a Cambridge master of arts will give 

the way to nobody. 
A bushel of March dust on the leaves, is worth a king** 

ransom. 
A calm is most welcome after a storm. 
A careless watch invites the vigilant foe. 
A carper can cavil at any thing. 

A cat has nine lives, and a woman has nine cats' lives* 
A cat mayjook upon a king 
A charitable man is the true lover of God. 
A child's birds, and a boy's wife are well used. 
A civil denial is better than a rude grant. 
A clean hand wants no washing 
A clear conscience can bear any trouble. 
A clear conscience is a sure card 
A clear conscience laughs at false accusations. 
A close mouth catcheth no flies. 
A college of wit-crackers. 

A colt you may break, but an old horse you never can. 
A common blot is held no stain. 



3 

A common jeerer may have wit, but not wisdom. 

A constant guest j s never welcome. 

A constrained will seeketh every opportunity to slip its 

head out of the collar. 
A cook is known by his knife. 

A covetous man does nothing that he should do, till he dies. 
A covetous man is a dog in a wheel, that roasteth meat 

for others. 
A covetous man is good to none, but worst to himself. 
A cough will stick longer by a horse than a peck of oats, 
A countryman may be as warm in kersey as a king in 

velvet. 
A courageous foe is better than a cowardly friend. 
A courtesy much entreated is half recompensed, 
A coward's fear can make a coward valiant. 
A crafty fellow never has any peace. 
A cripple may possibly catch a hare. 
A crooked stick will have a crooked shadow. 
A crowd is not company. 
A crown in pocket doth you more credit than an angel 

spent. 
A cursed cow has short horns. 
A cursed curr should be short tied. 
A customary railer is the devil's bagpipe, which the world 

danceth after. 
A danger foreseen is half avoided. 
A day to come shews longer than a year that's gone. 
A day will come when fair dealing will be found a jewel. 
A debauched son of a noble family, is a foul stream from 

a clear spring. 
A deformed body may have a beautiful soul. 
A deluge of words and a drop of sense. 
A detractor is Jlis own foe and the world's enemy. 

A 2 



A diamond is valuable though it lie on a dunghill. 

A disease known is half cured. 

A dishonest woman cannot be kept in, and an honest one 
will not. 

A dogmatical tone, a pragmatical pate. 

A dog's life, hunger and ease. 

A dog will not cry if you beat him with a bone. 

A drowning man will catch at a rush. 

A drunken night makes a cloudy morning. 

A duck will not always dabble in the same gutter, 

A dull ass near home needs no spur. 

A dumb man never gets land. 

A dwarf threatens Hercules. 

A fair booty makes many a thief. 

A fair face and a foul bargain. 

A fair face and a foul heart. 

A. fair face is half a portion. 

A fair gamester among rooks must be beat. 

A fair wife without a fortune is a fine house without fur- 
niture. 

A father is a treasure, a brother a comfort ; but a friend 
is both. 

A fault once denied is twice committed. 

A fault wilfully committed deserveth no pardon. 

A favour ill-placed is profusion. 

A feast is not made of mushrooms only. 

A fine diamond may be ill set. 

A fool and his money are soon parted. 

A fool can dance without a fiddle. 

A fool demands much, but he is a greater that gives it. 

A fool is better than an obstinate man. 

A fool is happier in thinking well of himself, than a wise 
man in others thinking well of him. 



5 

A fool knows more in his own house than a wise man in 

another's. 
A fool loseth his estate before he finds his folly. 
A fool may chance to put something into a wise man's 

head. 
A fool's bolt is soon shot* 
A fool's bolt may sometimes hit the white. 
A fool's tongue is long enough to cut his own throat. 
A fool's speech is a bubble of air. 
A fool wants his cloak in a rainy day. 
A fool when he hath spoke hath done all. 
A fop of fashion is the mercer's friend, the tailor's fool, 

and his own foe. 
A forced kindness deserves no thanks. 
A fortunate man may be any where. 
A foul morn may turn to a fair day. 
A fox should not be of the jury at a goose's trial. 
A friend in court is as good as a penny in pocket. 
A friend is never known till needed. 
A friend in the market is better than money in the chest. 
A friend to all is a friend to none. 
A friend that you buy with presents will be bought from 

you. 
A full cup must be carried steadily. 
A full purse makes the mouth run over. 
A gallant man needs no trumpets and drums to rouse 

him. 
A gallant man rather despises death than hates life. 
A generous confession disarms slander. 
A gentleman ought to travel abroad but dwell at home. 
A gentleman should have more in his pocket than on his 

back. 
A gentleman without an estate is a pudding without suet. 

A 3 



6 

A gift long waited for is sold, not given. 

A gift with a kind countenance is a double present. 

A golden dart kills where it pleases. 

A golden shield is of great defence. 

A gold ring does not cure a felon. 

A good archer is not known by his arrows but his aim. 

A good beast will get himself a heat with eating. 

A good beginning makes a good ending. 

A good candle-snuffer may come to be a good player. 

A good cause and a good tongue, and yet money must 
carry it. 

A good cause makes a stout heart and a strong arm. 

A good conscience is the best divinity. 

A good conscience needs never sneak. 

A good day will not mend him, nor a bad day impair 
him. 

A good dog deserves a good bone. 

A good edge is good for nothing if it has nothing to cut. 

A good example is the best sermon. 

A good face needs no band, and a bad one deserves none. 

A good face needs no paint. 

A good faculty in lying is now-a-days a fair step to pre- 
ferment. 

A good fame is better than a good face. 

A good friend is my nearest relation. 

A good garden may have some weeds. 

A good honest man now-a-days is but a better word for a 
fool. 

A good hope is better than a bad possession. 

A good horseman wants a good spur. 

A good horse should be seldom spurred. 

A good life fears not life nor death. 

A good life is the only religion. 



A good man has more hope in his death, than a wicked 

in his life. 
A good man is no more to be feared than a sheep. 
A good man will as soon run into a fire as a quarrel. 
A good man will requite a gift ; an ill man will ask more* 
A good marksman may miss. 
A good merchant may meet with a misfortune. 
A good neighbour, a good morrow. 
A good orator must be Cicero and Roscius in one man. 
A good paymaster may build Paul's. 
A good paymaster never wants workmen. 
A good pinch and a rap with a stick is a clown's compliment* 
A good presence is letters of recommendation. 
A good present need not knock long for admittance. 
A good reputation is a fair estate • 
A good sailor may mistake in a dark night. 
A. good sallad may be the prologue to a bad supper. 
A good season for courtship is, when the widow returns 

from the funeral. 
A good servant must have good wages. 
A good shift may serve long but cannot serve for ever, 
A good tale ill told is a bad one. 
A good tongue has seldom need to beg attention. 
A good tongue is a good weapon. 
A good thing is soon caught up. 
A good tree is a good shelter. 
A good winter brings a good summer. 
A goose quill is more dangerous than a lion's claw. 
A goss-hawk beats not at a bunting. 
A gossip speaks ill of all, and all of her. 
A grain of prudence is worth a pound of craft. 
A great blockhead hath not stuff enough to make a man of 

sense. 



8 

A great bustle and no business done. 

A great ceremony for a small saint. 

A great city a great solitude. 

A great cry and little wool. 

A great dowry is a bedful of brambles. 

A great fortune in the hands of a fool is a great misfor- 
tune. 

A great fortune is a great slavery. 

A great head and a little wit. 

A great load of gold is more burdensome than a light load 
of gravel. 

A great man and a great river are often ill neighbours. 

A great mans foolish sayings pass for sentences. 

A great man will not trample upon, a worm, nor sneak to 
an emperor. • 

A great mark is soonest hit. 

A great reputation is a great charge. 

A great ship must have deep water. 

A great tree'hath a great fall. 

A green winter makes a fat church-yard. 

A green wound is soon healed. 

A grunting horse and a groaning wife seldom fail. 

A guilty conscience never thinketh itself safe. 

A giant will starve with what will surfeit a dwarf. 

A hand-saw is a good thing, but not to shave with. 

A hare may draw a lion if she have but a golden cord. 

A heady man and a fool may wear the same cap. 

A hog in armour is still but a hog. 

A hog that is bemired, endeavours to bemire others. 

A hog upon trust grunts till he is paid for. 

A hook is well lost to catch a salmon. 

A horse is neither better nor worse for his trapping. 

A horse that will not carry a saddle must have no oats. 



A hot May fills the church-yard. 

A house built by the way-side is either too high or too 

low. 
A house ready built never sells for so much as it cost. 
A house ready made, but a wife to make. 
A house well furnished makes a good housewife. 
A hungry man smells meat afar off. 
A jealous head is soon broken. 
A jealous man's horns hang in his eyes. 
A jest driven too far brings home hate or scorn. 
A joke never gains over an enemy, but often loseth a 

friend. 
A journey were better too long than dangerous. 
A joyful evening may follow a sorrowful morning. 
A Kentish jury, hang half and save half. 
A knave discovered is a great fool. 
A knavish confession should have a cane for absolution. 
A lamb is as dear to a poor man as an ox to the rich. 
A lame traveller should get out betimes, 
A lazy ox is little better for the goad. 
A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy. 
A leaden sword in an ivory scabbard. 
A liar is a bravo towards God and a coward towards men, 
A lie begets a lie till they come to generations. 
A lie has no legs, but a scandal has wings. 
A lion may come to be beholding to a mouse. 
A libertine life is not a life of liberty. 
A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. 
A light purse makes a heavy heart. 
A linsey-wolsey gown does not become June, 
A little barrel can give but a little meal. 
A little bird is content with a little nest. 
A little debt makes a debtor, but a great one an enemy. 



10 

A little evil contributes more to our misery. 

A little of every thing is nothing in the main. 

A little ship needs not but a little sail. 

A little stream may quench thirst as well as a great river. 

A little stream will drive a light miiL 

A little string will tie up a little bird. 

A little time may be enough to catch a great deal of mis- 
chief. 

A little wind kindleth a great fire, a great one bloweth it 
out. 

A little wood will heat a little oven. 

A long harvest and a little corn. 

A long life hath long miseries. 

A long ox and a short horse. 

A lord without riches is a soldier without arms. 

A low hedge is easily leaped over. 

A loyal heart may be landed under traitor's bridge. 

A mad beast must have a sober driver. 

A mad bull is not to be tied up with a packthread. 

A madman and a fool are no witnesses. 

A mad parish must have a mad priest. 

A maid that laughs is half taken. 

A man among children will be long a child, a child among 
men will be soon a man. 

A man apt to promise is apt to forget. 

A man as he manages himself may die old at thirty and 
a child at eighty. 

A man at sixteen will prove a child at sixty. 

A man gains nothing by being vain-glorious, but contempt 
and hatred. 

A man gets no thanks for what he loseth at play. 

A man has no more goods than he gets good by. 

A man is a man though he have but a hose upon his head. 



11 

A man is a man though he have never a cap to his crown. 

A man is a stark fool all the while he is angry. 

A man is not good or bad for one action. 

A man is not so soon healed as hurt. 

A man in distress or despair does as much as ten. 

A man in passion rides a horse that runs away with him. 

A man knows his companion in a long journey and a lit- 
tle inn. 

A man may be an artist though he have not his tools 
about him, 

A man, like a watch, is to be valued for his goings. 

A man loseth his time that comes early to a bad bargain. 

A man may as well expect to be well, and at ease with- 
out wealth, as happy without virtue. . 

A man may be good in the camp and yet bad in the 
church. 

A man may be happy here and hereafter, without much 
fame or wealth. 

A man may be strong and yet not mow well. 

A man may buy even gold too dear. 

A man may come to market though he do not buy oysters. 

A man may lead his horse to water but cannot make him 
drink. 

A man may love his house and yet not ride on the ridge. 

A man may be young in years and yet old in hours. 

A man may have a just esteem of himself without being 
proud. 

A man may provoke his own dog to bite him. 

A man may say even his pater-noster out of time. / 

A man may say too much even on the best of subjects. 

A man must ask his wife's leave to thrive. 

A man of courage never wants weapons. 

A man of cruelty is God's enemy. 



n 

A man of many trades begs his bread on Sundays. 

A man of parts may lie hid all his life, unless fortune 

calls him out. 
A man's best fortune, or his worst, is a wife. 
A man's folly ought to be his greatest secret, 
A man's gift makes room for him. 
A man's little the better for liking himself, if nobody else 

like him. 
A man surprized is half beaten. 

A man that breaks his word bids others be false to him. 
A man that keeps riches and enjoys them not, is like an 

ass that carries gold and eats thistles. 
A man under no restraint is a bear without a ring. 
A man with a running head never wants wherewith to 

trouble himself. 
A man without ceremony has need of great merit in its 

place. 
A man without money is a bow without an arrow. 
A man without money is^ no man at all. 
A mare's shoe and a horse's shoe are both alike. 
A mariner must have his eye upon rocks and sands as 

well as upon the north star 
A mastiff groweth the fiercer for being tied up. 
A match, quoth John, when he kissed his dame. 
A mere scholar at court is an ass among apes. 
A merchant's happiness hangs upon chance, winds and 

waves. 
A merry companion is music in a journey. 
A merry old fool and a gay apish matron are domestic 

monsters. 
A mischievous plot may produce a good end. 
A misty morning may have a fine day 
A modest man at court is the silliest wight breathing. 



13 

A mole wants no lanthorn. 

A moneyless man goes fast through the market. 

A mouse, in time, may shear a cable asunder. 

A mouse must not think to cast a shadow like an elephant, 

A myrtle among thorns is a myrtle still. 

A natural propension will have its course ; especially a bad 

one. 
A nightingale cannot sing in a cage. 
A nod of an honest man is enough. 
A nod for a wise man, and a rod for a fool. 
A nod from a lord is a breakfast for a fool. 
A paradisiacal temper is not to be expected from postdi* 

luvian mortals. 
A pebble and a diamond are alike to a blind man. 
A penny more buys the whistle. 
A penny saved is twopence got. 
A penny-weight of love is worth a pound of law. 
A penny-worth of ease is worth a penny. 
A pensive soul feeds upon nothing but bitters. 
A person that is beautiful and vicious, is a fine picture set 

in a scurvy frame. 
A petitioner at court that spares his purse, angles without 

a bait. 
A piece of a kid is worth two of a cat. 
A pilot is not chosen for his riches, but his knowledge. 
A pin a-day is a groat a-year. 
A place at court is a continual bribe. 
A plaister is a small amends for a broken head. 
A poor man gets a poor marriage. 

A poor man has not many marks for Fortune to shoot at., 
A poor man's debt makes a great noise. 
A poor man wants some things, a covetous man all things. 
A poor pleader may do in a plain cause. 

B 



14 

A poor spirit is poorer than a poor purse. 

A poor wedding is a prologue to misery. 

A pot that belongs to many, is ill stirred and worse boiled. 

A pound of care will not pay an ounce of debt. 

A pretty fellow, to make an axle-tree for an oven ! 

A pretty pig makes an ugly old sow. 

A princely mind will undo a private family. 

A prince wants a million, a beggar but a groat. 

A promise against law or duty, is void in its own nature. 

A proud look makes foul work in a fine face. 

A proud man hath many crosses 

A proud mind and a poor purse a*e ill met. 

A puff of wind and the praise of the people weigh alike. 

A purse without money is but a piece of leather. 

A quiet calf sucks its dam, and another cow also. 

A quick baker, and a slow brewer. 

A quiet conscience causes a quiet sleep. 

A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder. 

A race-horse is an open sepulchre. 

A rascal grown rich has lost all his kindred. 

A ready way to lose your friend is to lend him money. 

A reconciled friend is a double enemy. 

A rich friend is a treasure. 

A rich rogue ; two shirts and a rag. 

A right Englishman knows not when a thing is well. 

A rogue's wardrobe is harbour for a louse. 

A rope and butter ; if one slip, the other will hold. 

A scabbed horse is good enough for a scabbed knight. 

A sceptre is one thing, a ladle another. 

A scoff is the reward of bashfulness. 

A Scots mist will wet an Englishman to the skin. 

A servant and a cock should be kept but a year. 

A servant is known by his master's absence^ 



15 

A servant never yet miscarried through excess of respect. 
A shameless beggar must have a short denial. 

Co 

A sheepskin-shoe lasts not long. 

A ship, a mill, and a woman are always repairing. 

A short horse is soon curried. 

A short man needs no stool to give a long lubber a box on 

the ear. 
A short prayer may reach up to the Heaven of Heavens, 
A shrew profitable, may serve a man reasonable. 
A shroved tree may stand long. 
A silver key can open an iron lock. 
A slight from an inferior is highly provoking. 
A slight gift, small thanks. 
A slip of the foot may be soon recovered ; but that of the 

tongue perhaps never. 
A small demerit extinguishes a long service. 
A small family is soon provided for. 
A small hurt in the eye is a great one. 
A small leak will sink a great ship. 
A small matter hurts one that is sore. 
A small pack becomes a small pedlar. 
A small rain may allay a great storm. 
A small shop may have a good trade. 
A small sore wants not a great plaister. 
A small sum may serve for a small reckoning. 
A small wound may be mortal. 
A smoking chimney in a great house is a good sign. 
A snow year, a rich year. 
A soft answer bids a furioso put up his sword. 
A solitary man is either a brute or an angel. 
A soul in a fat body lieth soft, and is loth to rise. 
A sparrow in hand is worth a pheasant that flyeth by, 
A spot is most seen upon the finest cloth. 

b 2 



16 

A spur in the head is worth two in the heels. 

A stout heart crushes ill luck, 

A stumble may prevent a fall. 

A straight stick is crooked in the water* 

A successful man loses no reputation. 

A sweet and innocent compliance is the cement of lore. 

A swine fatted hath eat its own bane. 

A tale twice told, is cabbage twice sod. 

A thief knows a thief, as a wolf knows a wolf. 

A thief passes for a gentleman, when stealing has made 
him rich. 

A thin bush is better than no shelter. 

A thin meadow is soon mowed. 

A thinking man is always striking out something new. 

A thistle is a fat sallad for an ass's mouth. 

A thousand years hence, the river will run as it did. 

A thread-bare coat is armour-proof against highwaymen. 

A thread too fine spun will easily break. 

A thrush paid for is better than a turkey owing for. 

A tired traveller must be glad of an ass, if he have not & 
horse, 

A toiling dog comes halting home. 

A too quick return of an obligation is a sort of ingrati- 
tude. 

A tragical plot may produce a comical conclusion. 

A tree is known better by its fruit than its leaves. 

A true friend dares sometimes venture to be offensive. 

A true reformation must begin at the upper end. 

A very good or veiy bad poet is remarkable; but a mid- 
dling one who can bear ? 

A very proud man is always wilful. 

A vicious gentleman has a biot in his 'scutcheon. 

A vicious man's son has a good title to vice. 



17 

A virtuous woman, though ugly, is the ornament of the 
house. 

A wager is a fool's argument. 

A wet hand will hold a dead herring. 

A whet is no let, said the mower 
> A whetstone cannot itself cut, but yet it makes tools cut. 

A whole bushel of wheat is made up of single grains. 

A wicked book is the wickeder, because it cannot repent. 

A wicked companion invites us all to hell. 

A wicked man is afraid of his own memory. 

A wicked man is his own hell ; and his passions and lusts 
the fiends that torment him 

A wicked man is the worst thing in the world. 

A wife is not to be chosen by the eye only. 

A wild colt may become a sober horse. 

A wilful fault has no excuse, and deserves no pardon. 

A wilful man had need be very wise. 

A wilful man never wants wo. 

A willing mind makes a light foot. 

A windy March and a rainy April, make a beautiful May. 

A wise head hath a close mouth to it. 

A wise look may secure a fool, if he talk not. 

A wise man begins in the end ; a fool ends in the begin- 
ning. 

A wise man is a great wonder. 

A wise man may be kind without cost. 

A wise man may look ridiculous in the company of fools. 

A wise man turns chance into good fortune. 

A wise man will make tools of what comes to hand. 

A wise man's loss is his secret. 

A wise man's thoughts walk within him, but a fool's with- 
out him. 

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. 

B 3 



18 

A woman is to be from her house three times ; when she 

is christened., married, and buried. 
A woman that paints, puts up a bill that she is to be let. 
A wonder lasts but nine days, and then the puppy's eyes 

are open. 
A wooden leg is better than no leg. 
A wool seller knows a wool buyer. 
A word and a stone let go, cannot be called back. 
A word spoke is an arrow let fly. 
A word to the wise. 
A yeoman upon his legs is higher than a prince upon his 

knees. 
A young man negligent, an old man necessitous. 
A young prodigal, an old mumper. 
A young saint, an old devil. 
A young serving-man, an old beggar. 
A young trooper should have an old horse. 
A young twig is easier twisted than an old tree. 
A young whore, an old saint. 
A young woman married to an old man, must behave like 

an old woman. 
All are desirous to win the prize. 
All are fellows at football. 

All are good maids, but whence come the bad wives ? 
All are not friends that speak one fair. 
All are not hanged that are condemned. 
All are not thieves that dogs bark at. 
All are not turners that are dish-throwers. 
AH between the cradle and the coffin is uncertain. 
All blood is alike ancient. 
All brings grist to your mill. 
All cats are alike grey in the night. 
All commend patience, but none can endure to suffer. 



19 

All complain of want of memory, but none of want of 

judgment. 
All covet, all lose. 

All death is sudden to the unprepared. 
All doors open to courtesy. 

All fame is dangerous : good, bringeth Envy ; bad, shame. 
All fish are not caught with flies. 
All flesh is not venison. 
All flowers are not in one garland. 
All fool, or all philosopher. 
All good is the better for being diffusive. 
All her dishes are chafing-dishes. 
All human power is but comparative. 
All ill workmen quarrel with their tools. 
All is but lip-wisdom, that wanteth experience. 
All is fine that is fit. 
All is fish that comes to the net. 
All is soon ready in an orderly house. 
All is not at hand that helps. 
All is not butter that comes from the cow. 
All is not gold that glitters. 
All is not gospel that comes out of his mouth. 
All is not lost that is in peril. 
All is not won, that is put in the purse. 
All lay load on the willing horse. 
All liquors are not for every one's liking. 
All mankind is beholden to him that is kind to the good. 
All meat is not the same in every man's mouth. 
All men cannot be first. 
All men cannot be masters. 

All men naturally have some love and liking for truth. 
All men think their enemies ill men. 
All of heaven and hell is not known till hereafter. 



20 

All rivers do what they can for the sea. 

All saint without, all devil within. 

All sorts of sweets are not wholesome. 

All strive to give to the rich man. 

All's good in a famine. 

All's lost that is poured into a cracked dish. 

All temptations are founded either in hope or fear. 

All that are black, dig not for coals. 

All that breed in the mud are not Eels. 

All that's said in the parlour, should not be heard in the 

hall. 
All the fat is in the fire. 
All the joys in the world cannot take one grey hair out of 

our heads. 
All the keys hang not at one man's girdle. 
All the levers you can bring, will not heave it up. 
All the praise of inward virtue consists in outw T ard action. 
All the speed is in the spurs. 

All the water in the sea cannot wash out this stain. 
All the world is not wise conduct and stratagem. 
All the world, will beat the man whom fortune buffets. 
All things are difficult, before they are easy. 
All things are easy that are done willingly. 
All things are not to be granted at all times. 
All things help, quoth the wren, when she pissed in the 

sea. 
All things that great men do, are well done. 
All things thrive with him ; he eats silk, and voids velvet. 
All tongues are not made of the same flesh. 
All truth is not to be told at all times. 
All unwarrantable delights have an ill farewell. 
All women are good; viz. good for something, or good 

for nothing. 






fi 

All worldly happiness consists in opinion. 

All worldly profit, all pleasure is correspondent to a like 
measure of anxiety or wearisomeness. 

All you'll get by it, you may put into your eyes, and not 
see the worse. 

All your eggs have two yolks apiece, I warrant you. 

All your geese are swans. 

An acute word cuts deeper than a sharp weapon. 

An advantageous religion never wanted proselytes. 

An affected superiority spoils company. 

An alewive's sow is always well fed* 

An angler eats more than he gets. 

An ape may chance to sit amongst the Doctors. 

An apple may happen to be better given than eaten. 

An Argus at home, and a mole abroad. 

An artful fellow is a devil in a doublet. 

An ass cover'd with gold is more respected, than a gooc! 
horse with a pack-saddle. 

An ass is but an ass, though laden with gold. 

An ass is the gravest beast, an owl the gravest bircL 

An ass laden with gold overtakes every thing. 

An ass loaded with gold, climbs to the top of a castle. 

An ass must be tied where the master will have him. 

An ass that carries a load, is better than a lion that de- 
vours men. 

An ass that kicketh against the wall, receives the blow 
himself. 

An ass was never cut out for a lap-dog. 

An atheist is got one point beyond the devil. 

An egg. and to bed. 

An emmet may work its heart out, but can never make 
honey. 

An empty belly hears nobody. 



22 

An empty purse frights away friends. 

An empty sack cannot stand upright. 

An enemy is a perpetual spy. 

An enemy may chance to give good counsel. 

An envious man is a squint-eyed fool. 

An evil conscience breaks many a man's neck. 

An handful of trade is an handful of gold. 

An handsome bodied man in the face. 

An happy man shall have more cousins, than his father 
had kinsfolks. 

An head with a good tongue in it, is worth double the 
price. 

An high station hath great hazards. 

An honest and diligent servant is an humble friend. 

An honest good look covereth many faults. 

An honey -tongue, a heart of gall. 

An horse-kiss, like to beat one's teeth out. 

An host's invitation is expensive. 

An hour may destroy what an age was a building, 

An hour of pain is as long as a day of pleasure. 

An hundred traitors, an hundred weavers, and an hundred 
millers, make three hundred thieves. 

An hungry kite sees a dead horse afar off. 

An hungry louse bites sore. 

An hypocrite never thoroughly repents. 

An hypocrite pays tribute to God, only that he may im- 
pose upon men. 

An idle person is the devil's playfellow. 

An ill conscience can never hope well. 

An ill cook should have a good cleaver. 

An ill cow may have a good calf. 

An ill father desireth not an ill son. 

An ill man in office is a mischief to the public. 



23 

An-ill man is worst, when he appeareth good. 

An ill paymaster never wants excuse. 

An ill receiver makes an ill paymaster. 

An ill style is better than a lewd story. 

An ill-tim'd jest hath ruin'd many. 

An ill turn is soon done. 

An inch breaketh no square. 

An inch in an hour, is a foot in a day's work. 

An inch in a man's nose is much. 

An inch in missing, is as bad as an ell. 

An inch of a horse is worth a span of a colt. 

An indifferent agreement, is better than carrying a cause 

at law. 
An insolent lord is not a gentleman. 
An oak is not felled at one chop. 
An obedient wife commands her husband. 
An old ape hath an old eye. 
An old courtier, a young beggar. 
An old dog can't alter his way of barking. 

An old fox needs not to be taught tricks. 

An old fox understands a trap. 

An old goat is never the more reverend for his beard. 

An old man, if he be a trifler, is every one's scorn. 

An old man is a bed full of bones. 

An old man never wants a tale to tell. 

An old ox makes a straight furrow. 

An old ox will find a shelter for himself. 

An old physician, and a young lawyer. 

An old whore's curse is a blessing. 

An old wrinkle never wears out. 

An open door may tempt a saint. 

An open knave is a great fool. 

An ounce of fortune is worth a pound of forecast. 



24 



An ounce of wisdom is worth a pound of wit. 

An ox, when he is loose, licks himself at pleasure. 

An unbounded liberty will undo us. 

An unfortunate man's cart is apt to overthrow. 

An unpeaceable man hath no neighbour. 

As a cat loves mustard. 

-Asa wise child maketh a happy father, so a wise father 

maketh a happy child. 
As a wolf is like a dog, so is a flatterer like a friend. 
As brisk as a bee in a tar-pot. 
As brisk as a body-louse. 
As broken a ship as this has come to land. 
As busy as a hen with one chick. 
As crooked as Crawley brook. 
As deep drinketh the goose as the gander. 
As demure as an old whore at a christening. 
As demure as if butter would not melt in his mouth. 
As drunk as a tinker. 
As drunk as David's sow. 
As far from the heart as from the eyes. 
As fire is kindled by bellows, so is anger by words. 
As fit as a fritter for a friar's mouth. 
As fit as a thump with a stone in an apothecary's eye* 
As fond of it, as an ape is of a whip and a bell. 
As good be an addled egg as an idle bird. 
As good beg of a naked man as of a miser. 
As good be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. 
As good do nothing as to no purpose. 
As good eat the devil as the broth he is boiled in. 
As good have no time, as make no good use of it. 
As good never a whit, as never the better. 
As good out of the world, as out of the Fashion. 
As good play for nothing as work for nothing. 



25 



As good twenty as nineteen. 

As good water goes by the mill as drives it. 

As grave as an old gate-post. 

As grey as Grannum's cat. 

As great pity to see a woman cry, as to see a goose go 

barefoot. 
As hasty as Hopkins, that came to jail over-night, and 

was hanged the next morning. 
As high as a hog, all but the bristles, 
As honest a man as any in the cards, when the kings are 

out. 
As innocent as a devil of two years old. 
As irrecoverable as a lump of butter in a greyhound's 

mouth. 
As is the gander, so is the goose. 
As is the gardener, so is the garden. 
As is the workman, so is the work. 
As kind as a kite ; all you cannot eat you hide. 
As lame as St. Giles Cripplegate. 
As lazy as Ludlam's dog, that leaned his head against the 

wall to bark. 
As lawless as a town bull. 
* As like as an apple is to a lobster. 
As like as two peas. 
As long as Meg of Westminster. 
As long as I live I'll spit in my parlour. 
As long lives the merry heart as the sad. 
As love thinks no evil, so envy speaks no good. 
As mad as a March hare. 
As mad as the baited bull at Stamford. 
As much as York excels foul Sutton. 
As much wit as three folks, two fools and a madman. 
As necessary as an old sow among young children. 

c 



26 

As nimble as a cow in a cage. 

As nimble as an eel in a sand-bag. 

As often as thou doest wrong, justice has thee on the 
score. 

As often as we do good, we sacrifice. 

As old as the itch. 

As pert as a frog upon a washing-block. 

As proud come behind as go before. 

As rich as a new-shorn sheep. 

As safe as a thief in a mill. 

As slender in the middle, as a cow in the waist. 

As soon as you have drank, you turn jrour back upon the 
spring. 

As soon goes the lamb's skin to the market as the ewe's. 

As spiteful as an old maid. 

As stout as a miller's waistcoat, that takes a thief by the 
neck every day. 

As sure as Exchequer pay. 

As the best wine makes the sharpest vinegar, so the deep- 
est love turns to the deadliest hatred. 

As the market goes, wives must sell 

As the old cock crows, so crows the young. 

As the touchstone trieth gold, so gold trieth men. 

As the wind blows, seek your shelter . 

As the wind blows, you must set your sail. 

As they brew, so let them bake. 

As troublesome as a wasp in one's ear. 

As true as the dial to the sun. 

As true steel as Rippon spurs. 

As virtue is its own reward, so vice is its own punish- 
ment. 

As useless as monkey's grease. 

As wary as a blind horse. 



27 

As welcome as a storm. 
As welcome as flowers in May. 
As welcome as water in one's shoes. 
* As welcome as water in a leaking ship. 
As wilful as a pig, that will neither lead nor drive. 
As wise as Waltham's calf, that ran nine miles to suck a 

bull. 
As you brew, so drink. 
As you make yo ur bed, so lie down. 

Absence cools moderate passions, but inflames violent ones. 
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it. 
Abuse does not hinder the use of a thing that is in itself 

lawful. 
Abused patience turns to fury. 

Accusing is proving, where Malice and Force sit judges. 
Accusing the times is but excusing ourselves. 
Action is the proper fruit of knowledge. 
Admiration is the daughter of Ignorance. 
Adversity fiattereth no man. 
Adversity is easier borne, than prosperity forgot. 
Adversity makes wise, though not rich. 
Adversity oftentimes leads to prosperity. 
Affairs that are done by due degrees are soon ended. 
Affinity in hearts is the nearest kindred. 
Affirmations are apter to be believed than negations. 
After cheese comes nothing. 
After Christmas comes Lent. 
After clouds, calm weather. 
After death, the doctor. 
After meat, mustard. 

After the greatest danger is the greatest pleasure. 
Against God's wrath no castle is thunder-proof. 
Against the wild-fire of the mob there is no defence. 



128 

After this leaf another grows. 

-Age and wedlock bring a man to his night-cap. 

Age and wedlock tame man and beast. 

Age and wedlock we all desire, and repent of. 

Agree, for the law is costly. 

Air coming in at a window, is as bad as a cross-bow-shot. 

Alexander himself was once a crying babe. 

Alexander was below a man, when he affected to be a god. 

Alike every day makes a clout on Sunday. 

Alms are the golden key that opens the gate of Heaven. 

Always you are to be rich next year. 

Ambition plagues her proselytes. 

Amendment is repentance. 

Among the people Scoggin's a doctor. 

Among the perils and dangers of life, solitude is none of 

the least. 
Anger begins with folly, and ends with repentance. 
Anger is a sworn enemy. 
Anger is many times more hurtful than the injury that 

caused it. 
Anger is the fever and frenzy of the soul. 
Anger is short-lived in a good man. 
Anger makes a rich man hated, and a poor man scorned. 
Anger may glance into the breast of a wise man, but rests 

only in the bosoms of fools. 
Anger punishes itself. 

Angry men and drunken men, during the fit, are distract- 
ed. 
Angry men seldom want woe. 
* Another threshed what I reaped. 

Antiquity cannot privilege an error, nor novelty prejudice 

a truth. 
Antiquity is not always a mark of verity. 



29 

Any thing for a quiet life. 

Apelles was not a master-painter the first day. 

Apes are never more beasts, than when they wear men's 

clothes. 
Application makes the ass. 
April and May are the key of alt the year. 
Are you afraid of him that dy'd last year ? 
Are you there with your bears ? 
Argument seldom convinces any one contrary to his in« 

clinations. 
Arrogance is a weed that grows mostly in a dunghill. 
Art helps Nature, and Experience Art. 
Art must be deluded by Art. 
Ask a kite for a feather, and she'll say, she has but just 

enough to fly with. 
Ask my companion, if I'm a thief. 
Ask the mother, if the child be like his father. 
Ask the seller, if his ware be bad. 
Ask thy purse what thou should'st buy. 
Asses die, and wolves bury them. 
Asses that bray most, eat least. 
At a good table we may go to school. 
At a round table the heralds useless. 
At court, every one for himself. 
At the end of the game, you'll see who's the winner. 
At the end of the work, you may judge of the workman. 
At the gate which suspicion enters, love goes out. 
At weddings and funerals, friends are descerned from kins- 
folks. 

«. 

B 
Bacchus hath drown'd more men than Neptune. 
Backbiting oftener proceeds from pride than malice. 
Bad customs are better broke than kept up. 

c 3 



30 

Bad excuses are worse than none. 

Bad luck often brings good luck. 

Bad priests bring the devil into the church. 

Bald heads are soon shaven. 

Barbarous asses ride on Barbary horses. 

Bare words buy no barley. 

Bare walls make gadding housewives. 

Barefoot must not go among thorns. 

Base natures,, if they find themselves suspected, will never 

be true. 
Base terms are bellows to a slackening fire. 
Bashfulness is boyish. 

Bachelor's wives, and maid's children are well taught. 
Bate me an ace, quoth Bolton. 
Be a father to Virtue, but a father in-law to Vice* 
Be a friend to thyself, and others will be so too. 
Be aware of a fine tongue, 'twill sting mortally. 
Be as you would seem to be. 
Be content, the sea hath fish enough. 
Be merry and wise. 

Be not choleric, 'twill make you look old. 
Be not hasty to outbid another. 
Be old betimes, that thou may'st long be so. 
Be silent before a great man, or speak what may please him. 
Be silent, or speak something worth hearing. 
Be the business never so painful, you may have it done 

for money. 
Better a barn filled; than a bed. 
Better a blush in the face, than a spot in the heart. 
Better abridge petty charges, than stoop to petty gettings. 
Better a fair pair of heels than a halter. 
Better a good word than a battle. 
Better a lean jade than an empty halter. 



31 

Better a lean peace than a fat victory. 

Better a little fire to warm us, than a great one to burn us, 

Better a master be feared than despised. 

Better a mouse in the pot than no flesh at all. 

Better a portion in a wife than with a wife. 

Better a tooth out than always aching. 

Better an empty house than an ilJ tenant. 

Better be a cuckold and not know it, than be none, and 

every body say so. 
Better be alone than in bad company. 
Better be a shrew than a sheep. 
Better be denied than deceived. 
Better be poor and live safe at land, than be rich and per* 

ish in the sea. 
Better be poor than wicked. 
Better be spited than pitied. 

Better be stung by a nettle than pricked by a rose. 
Better be up to the ancles, than quite over head and ears* 
Better be unmannerly than troublesome. 
Better belly burst than good drink lost. 
Better bow than break. 

Better break your word than do worse in keeping it. 
Better buy than borrow. 
Better come at the latter end of a feast, than the begin* 

ning of a fray. 
Better cry fie salt than fie stink. 
Better cut the shoe than pinch the foot. 
Better die a beggar than live a beggar. 
Better direct weil than work hard. 
Better do it than wish it done. 

Better dwell with a dragon than with a wicked woman. 
Better eat salt with philosophers of Greece, than eat sugar 

with courtezans of Italy. 



32 

Better fare hard with good men, than feast it with bad. 

Better fed than taught, said the churl to the parson. 

Better give a shilling than lend and loose half a crown. 

Better give the wool than the whole sheep. 

Better go hack than loose yourself. 

Better go to Heaven in rags than to Hell in embroidery. 

Better go to bed supperless than rise in debt. 

Better half a loaf than no bread 

Better half an egg than an empty shell. 

Better have a dog fawn upon you than bite you. 

Better have an old man to humour, than a young rake to 
break your heart 

Better have no children than sottish and mad ones. 

Better have one plough going than two cradles. 

Better hazard once than be always in fear; 

Better keep the devil at the door than turn him out of the 

house. 
Better kiss a knave than be troubled with him. 
Better known than trusted. 

Better late ripe and bear, than early blossom and blast. 
Better late than never. 
Better leave than lack. 

Better live in a poor hovel, than be buried in a rich se- 
pulchre. 
Better live within compass, than have large comings in. 
Better lose a jest than a friend. 
Better master one than engage with ten. 
Better never have been handsome when young, than ugly 

when old. 
Better no ring than a ring of a rush. 

Better one's House be too little one day, than too big all 
the year after. 



Better ride an ass that carries us, than a horse that throws 

us. 
Better say nothing, than nothing to the purpose. 
Better shelter under an old hedge than a young furzbush. 
Better sit up all night than go to bed to a dragon. 
Better some of a puo^ding than none of a pye. 
Better so than worse. 
Better spent than spared. 
Better's a dirty hog than no hog at all. 
Better's the head of an ass than the tail of a horse. 
Better's the last smile than the first laughter. 
Better strive with an ill ass than carry the wood one's self. 
Better to say here it is, than here it was. 
Better the foot slip than the tongue. 

Better the head of the yeomen than the tail of the gentry. 
Better thou perish than truth. 

Better two drones be preserved than one good bee perish. 
Better two losses than one sorrow. 
Better unborn than unbred. 
Better untaught than ill taught. 
Better walk leisurely than lie abroad all night. 
Better wear out shoes than sheets. 
Better sell than live poorly. 
Better go- away longing than loathing. 
Be you never so high, the law is above you. 
Beads about the neck, and the devil in the heart. 
Bear with evil and expect good. 
Bear-garden breeding. 
Beauty's a blossom. 
Beauty draws more than oxen. 
Beauty in women is like the flowers in the spring; but 

virtue is like the stars of Heaven. 
Beauty is but skin deep ; within is filth and putrefaction. 



34 

Beauty is no inheritance. 

Beauty is potent, but money is more potent. 

Beauty is soon blasted. 

Beauty is the subject of a blemish. 

Beauty may have fair leaves, yet bitter fruit. 

Beauty will buy no beef. 

Beauty without virtue is a curse. 

Beauties without fortunes have sweethearts plenty, but 

husbands none at all. 
Bees that have honey in their mouths, have stings in their 

tails. 
Before the cat can lick her ear. 
Beggars and borrowers must be no chusers. 
Beggars fear no rebellion. 
Beggars can never be bankrupts. 
Beggars may sing before a thief. 
Beggars never are out of their way. 
Begging of a courtesy is selling of liberty. 
Begin with Argus' eyes, and finish with Briareus' hands. 
Believe well and have well. 

Bells call others to church, but go not themselves. 
Best dealing with an enemy, when you take him at his 

weakest. 
Best to bend it while a twig. 

Bestow on me what you will, so it be none of your secrets. 
Between hawk and buzzard. 
Between promising and performing, a man may marry his 

daughter. 
Between two stools, the breech cometh to the ground. 
Beware of, Had I wist. 
Beware of no man more than thyself. 
Beware of the fore part of a woman, the hind part of a 

mule, and all sides of a priest* 



35 

Beware of the stone thou stumbledst at before. 

Bind so as you may unbind. 

Birds are entangled by their feet, and men by their 

tongues. 
Birds pay equal honours to all men. 
Birth is much, but breeding is more. 
Biting and scratching gets the cat with kitten. 
Bitter pills may have wholesome effects. 
Black plums may eat as sweet as white. 
Black will take no other hue. 
Blessed is the peace-maker,, not the conqueror. 
Blessings are not valued till they are gone. 
Blind men must not run. 
Blind men should not judge of colours. 
Blind men's wives need no paint. 
Blots are no blots till hit. 

Bloody and deceitful men dig their own graves. 
Blow first and sip afterwards. 
Blow not against the hurricane. 
Blow, smith, and you'll get money. 
Blow thy own pottage, and not mine. 
Blushing is virtue's colour. 
Blush like a black dog. 
Bodily labour earns not much. 
Boil not the pap before the child be born. 
Boil stones in butter, and you may sip the broth. 
Bold Resolution is the favourite of Providence. 
Boldness is blind. 

Boldness in business is the first, second, and third thing. 
Borrow not too much upon time to come. 
Borrowed garments never sit well. 
Both folly and wisdom come upon us with years-. 
Bought friends are not friends indeed. 



36 

Bought wit is best, but may cost too much. 
Bounty may be bounty, and yet not go a-begging for ad- 
mittance. 
Bows too long bent grow weak. 
Boys will be men. 

Brag's a good dog, but dares not bite. 
Brave actions never want a trumpet. 
Bread with eyes, cheese without eyes, and wine that leaps 

up to the eyes. 
Bribes throw dust into cunning men's eyes. 
Bribes will enter without knocking. 
Bring not a bagpipe to a man in trouble. 
Bring your line to the wall, not the wall to the line. 
Broken sacks will hold no corn. 
Buffoonery and scurrility are the corruption of wit, as 

knavery is of wisdom. 
Burn not your house to fright away the mice. 
Bush natural, more hairs than wit. 
Business is the salt of life. 

Business may be troublesome, but idleness is pernicious. 
Business and action strengthen the brain, but too much 

study weakens it. 
Busy-bodies never want a bad day. 
But help me to money, and I'll help myself to friends. 
But one egg, and that addled too. 
Butter is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at 

night. 
Buy and sell, and live by the loss. 
Buy at a market, and sell at home. 
Buyers want an hundred eyes, sellers none. 
Buying and selling is but winning and losing. 
By art and deceit men live half the year, and by deceit 

and art the other half. 



37 

By doing nothing, we learn to do ill. 

By fits and girts, as an ague takes a goose. 

By hook or by crook. 

By ignorance we mistake, and by mistakes we learn. 

By land or water the wind is ever in my face. 

By requiting one friend we invite many. 

By the husk you may guess at the nut. 

C 

Calamity is the touchstone of a brave mind. 

Call me cousin, but cozen me not. 

Call not a surgeon before you are wounded. 

Call your husband cuckold in jest, and he'll ne'er suspect 

you. 
Calumny and conjecture may injure innocency itself. 
Can a mill go with the water that's past ? 
Can a mouse fall in love with a cat? 
Can a jackanapes be merry when a clog is at his heels ? 
Can you make a pipe of a pig's tail ? 
Cannot I be your friend, but I must be your fool too ? 
Canterbury's the higher rack, but Winchester's the better 

manger. 
Capons were at first but chickens. 
Care and diligence bring luck. 
Careless men let their end steal upon them unawares, and 

unprovided. 
Careless shepherds make many a feast for the wolf. 
Care's no cure. 

Care not, and that will prevent horns. 
Care will kill a cat, yet there is no living without it. 
Carrion kites will never make good hawks. 
Carry coals to Newcastle. 
Carry your knife even between the paring and the apple, 

D 



38 

Cast a bone in the devil's teeth and it will sav£ you* 

Cast no dirt into the well that hath given you water. 

Cast not out thy foul water till thou hast clean. 

Cast not the helve after the hatchet. 

Cat after kind. 

Cats are hungry when a crust will content them. 

Cats hide their claws. 

Catholic charity makes us members of the Catholic church. 

Cause not thine own dog to bite thee. 

Censure and scandal are not the same. 

Censure's the tax a man pays the public for being emin- 
ent. 

Cent, per cent, do we pay for every vicious pleasure. 

Ceremonious friends are so, as far as a compliment will go. 

Chains of gold are stronger than chains of iron. 

Chance is a dicer. 

Change of pasture makes fat calves. 

Change of weather is the discourse of fools. 

Chare-folks are never paid enough. 

Charity and pride have different aims, yet both feed the 
poor. 

Charity begins at home, but should not end there. 

Charity excuses not cheating. 

Charity may be mistaken, but shall never be rewarded. 

Charity will rather wipe out the score than inflame the 
reckoning. 

Charon waits for all. 

Cheat me in the price, but not in the goods. 

Chickens, now-a-days, cram the cock. 

Children and fools tell truth. 

Children and fools have merry lives. 

Childern are poor men's riches. 

Children are certain cares, but uncertain comforts. 



39 

Children cry for nuts and apples, and old men for gold 
and silver. 

Children have wide ears and long tongues. 

Children increase the cares of life, but mitigate the remem- 
brance of death. 

Children suck the mother when they are young, and the 
father when grown up. 

Children, when little, make parents fools, when great, mad. 

Child's pig, but father's hog. 

Choak up, child, the church-yard's nigh. 

Choler hates a counsellor. 

Choler is the only unruly passion that justifies itself. 

Choleric men are blind and mad. 

Church-work goes on slowly. 

Chuse a wife rather by your ear than your eye. 

City gates stand open to the bad as well as the good. 

Civil carriage is the best sign of affection to a woman. 

Claw me and I'll claw thee. 

Clean hands want no wash ball. 

Cleaning a blot with blotted fingers maketh a greater blur. 

Clear and round dealing is the honour of man's nature. 

Close mouth. 

Clouds that the sun builds up darken him. 

Cloudy mornings may turn to clear evenings. 

Clowns are best in their own company, but gentlemen are 
best every where. 

Coarse bread at home is better than roast meat abroad. 

Cold of complexion, good of condition. 

Come and welcome ; go by, and no quarrel. 

Come, crack me this nut, quoth Bumstead. 

Come, slit me this hair. 

Come, uncalled : sit, unserved. 

Command your man, and do it yourself. 

D 2 



40 

Command your wealth, else that will command you. 
Commend not your wife, wine, nor house. 
Common fame hath a blister on its tongue. 
Common people hang more after praise than profit. 
Common sense is the growth of all countries. 
Commonly he is not stricken again, who laughs when he 

strikes. 
Company in miseiy makes it light. 
Company makes cuckolds. 
Comparison, more than reality, makes men happy or 

wretched. 
Comparisons are odious. 

Compliments cost nothing, yet many pay dear for them. 
Concealed goodness is a sort of vice. 
Concealed grudges are gangrenes in friendship. 
Conceited half-witted fellows think nothing can be done 

without them. 
Confess debt, and beg days. 
Confession of a fault makes half amends. 
Confidence goeth farther in company than good sense. 
Conform to common custom, and not to common folly. 
Congruity is the mother of love. 
Conscience cannot be compelled. 

Consideration gets as many victories as rashness loses. 
Consideration is half conversion. 
Consideration is the parent of wisdom. 
Constant complaints never get pity. 
Contempt is usually worse borne than real injuries. 
Contempt will cause Spite to drink of her own poison. 
Contend not about a goat's beard. 
Content is happiness. 
Content is more than a kingdom. 
Content is the philosopher's stone, that turns all it touches 

into gold. 



41 

Content lodges oftener in cottages than palaces. 

Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom. 

Contradiction should awaken attention, not passion. 

Conversation teaches more than meditation. 

Cook ruffian, able to scald the devil out of his feathers* 

Cooks are not to be taught in their own kitchen. 

Cool words scald not the tongue. 

Corn in good years is hay, in ill years straw is corn. 

Corn is not to be gathered in the blade but the ear. 

Cornelius ought to be Tacitus 

Correction should not respect so much what is past, as 
what is to come. 

Corruption of the best becomes the w r orst. 

Cover yourself with honey and the flies will have you. 

Covetous men are condemned to dig in the mines for they 
know not who. 

Covetous men are shamefully rich. 

Covetous men's chests are rich, not they. 

Covetous men live drudges to die wretches. 

Covetous rich men are not so well fed, clothed, or respect- 
ed, as other men* 

Covetousness, as weli as prodigality, brings a man to a 
morsel of bread. 

Covetousness breaks the sack. 

Covetousness brings nothing home. 

Covetousness is always filling a bottomless vessel. 

Covetousness is generally incurable. 

Covetousness often starves other vices. 

Counsel is as welcome to him as a shoulder of mutton to 
a sick horse. 

Counsel is happiness. 

Counsel is irksome when the matter is past remedy. 

Counsel is no command* 

r>3 



42 

Counsel must be followed, not praised. 

Counsel over cups is crazy. 

Count not your chickens before they are hatched. 

Courage and resolution are the spirit and soul of virtue. 

Courage, conduct and perseverance, conquer all before 
them 

Courage ought to have eyes as well as arms. 

Courage without fortune destroys a man. 

Courtesy is the inseparable companion of virtue. 

Courtesy on one side can never last long. 

Courts keep no almanacks. 

Cousin-germans, quite removed. 

Cowards are cruel. 

Cowards are made to be trampled on, unless their wit co- 
ver them. 

Cowards run the greatest danger of any men in a battle. 

Cowardice is afraid to be known or seen. 

Craft borders upon knavery; wisdom never uses, nor 
wants it. 

Craft counting all things, brings nothing home. 

Craft must have clothes, but truth loves to go naked. 

Crafty evasions save not veracity. 

Crafty men deal in generals. 

Credit lost is a Venice-glass broken, which cannot be sol- 
dered. 

Credulity tells people we are short-sighted. 

Crimes may be secret, but yet not secure. 

Cringing is a gainful accomplishment. 

Crooked by nature is never made straight by education. " 

Crosses are ladders to heaven. 

Crosses, though they be not pleasant, yet are wholesome. 

Crows are never the whiter for washing themselves. 

Crows bewail the dead sheep, and then eat them. 



43 

Cruelty deserves no mercy. 

Cruelty is a tyrant that is always attended with fear* 

Cruelty is the first attribute of the devil. 

Cuckolds are christians all the world over. 

Cuckolds themselves are the very last that know it, 

Cunning borders upon ill craft. 

Cunning craft is but the ape of wisdom. 

Curiosity is endless, restless and useless. 

Curiosity is ill manners in another's house. 

Custom is another nature. 

Custom is generally too hard for conscience. 

Custom is the guide of the ignorant. 

Custom is the plague of wise men and the idol of fools. 

Custom makes all things easy. 

Custom without reason is but an ancient error. 

Cut off the head and tail, and throw the rest away. 

Cut, or give me the bill. 

Cut your coat according to your cloth. 

Cutting out well is better than sewing up well. 

D 

Danger and delight grow both upon one stock. 

Dangers are overcome with dangers. 

Danger is next neighbour to security. 

Danger past, God is forgotten. 

Daughters and dead fish are no keeping wares. 

Daws love one another's prattle. 

Day and night, sun and moon, air and light, every one 

must have, and none can buy. 
Dead folks are past fooling. 
Dead folks cannot bite. 

Dead men are of no family, and are a-kin to none. 
Dead mice feel no cold. 



44 

Deaf men are quick-eyed and distrustful. 

Deaf men go away with the blarne. 

Death and the sun are two things not to be looked on with 
a steady eye; 

Death devours lambs as well as sheep. 

Death hath nothing terrible in it but what life hath made 
so. 

Death hath not so ghastly a face at a distance as it hath 
at hand. 

Death is a certain remedy for the injuries of fortune and 
vexations of life. 

Death is bitter to a man in prosperity, or in much busi- 
ness. 

Death is the grand leveller. 

Death keeps no calendar. 

Death meets us every where. 

Death rather frees us from ills than robs us of our goods. 

Death surprizes us in the midst of our hopes. 

Death's day is doom's day. 

Debt is a heavy burden to an honest mind, but thievish 
borrowers make light of it. 

Debt is an evil conscience. 

Debt is the worst poverty. 

Deceit is in haste, but honesty can stay a fair leisure. 

Deceiving those that trust us is more than a sin. 

Deceiving of a deceiver is no knavery. 

Decency and decorum are not pride. 

Deeds are fruits, words, are leaves. 

Defiance provokes an enemy. 

Delays increase desires, and sometimes extinguish them. 

Deliberating is not delaying. 

Denying a fault douoles it. 

Dependance is a poor trade. 



45 

Desert and rewards very often go not together. 

Desire of glory is the last garment that even wise men put 
off. 

Desire to forsake the world. 

Despair gives courage to a coward. 

Despair hath damned some, but presumption multitudes. 

Desperate cases must have desperate cures. 

Destiny leads the willing, but drags the unwilling. 

Destroy the lion while he is yet but a whelp. » 

Detraction is a weed that grows only on dunghills. 

Detractors are their own foes, and the world's enemies. 

Dexterity comes by experience. 

Diamonds cut diamonds. 

Dick's as dapper as a cock- wren. 

Did you ever before hear an ass play upon a lute ? 

Different sores must have different salves. 

Difficulty makes desire. 

Difficulties give way to diligence. 

Diffidence is the right eye of prudence. 

Dignities and honours set off merit, as good dress does- 
handsome persons. 

Diligence alone is a good patrimony, but negligence will 
waste a fair estate. 

Diligence is the mother of good fortune. 

Dine with duke Humfrey. 

Dirt is dirtiest upon clean white linen. 

Dirty troughs will serve dirty sows. 

Discontents generally arise from our desires more than our 
wants. 

Discreet stops make speedy journies. 

Discreet wives have sometimes neither eyes nor ears. 

Discretion in speech is more than eloquence. 

Diseases are the price of ill pleasures. 



46 

Disputations leave truth in the middle, and party at both 

ends. 
Dissembled sin is double wickedness. 
Distrust is the mother of safety, but must keep out of 

sight. 
Do all you can to be good, and you will be so. 
Do as little as you can to repent of. 
Do as most do, and men will speak well of thee. 
Do business, but be not a slave to it. 
Do evil, and look for the like. 
Do good, if you expect to receive it. 
Do in the hole as thou wouldst do in the hall. 
Do it well, that thou mayst not do it twice. 
Do nothing hastily but catching of fleas. 
Do the likeliest, and hope the best. 
Do well and have well. 
Dogs are hard drove when they eat dogs. 
Dogs bark as they are bred. 
Dogs never go into mourning when a horse dies. 
Dogs once scalded are afraid even of cold water. 
Dogs ought to bark before they bite. 
Dogs that bark at a distance never bite. 
Dogs that hunt foulest hit off most faults. 
Dogs that put up many hares kill none. 
Dogs wag their tails, not so much in love to you as your 

bread. 
Do not turn baker if your head be made of butter. 
Double charging will break even a cannon. 
Dover-court, all speakers and no hearers. 
Draff is good enough far swine. 
Draff was his errand, but drink he would have. 
Draw not thy bow before thy arrow be fixed. 
Drawn wells are seldom dry. 



4f 

Dress up even a little toad and it will look pretty. 
Drink and drought come not always together. 
Drink washes off the daub and discovers the man. 
Drink wine, and have the gout, drink none, and have i$ 

too. 
Drink wine in winter for cold, and in summer for heat. 
Drinking kindness is drunken friendship. 
Drive not a second nail till the first be clinched. 
Drive not too many ploughs at once ; some will make foul 

work. 
Drive that nail that will go. 
Drop by drop, the sea is drained. 
Drought never bred dearth in England. 
Drowning men will cateh at a rush. 
Drown not thyself to save a drowning man. 
Drumming is not the way to catch a hare. 
Drunkards have a fool's tongue and a knave's heart. 
Drunkenness is a pair of spectacles to see the devil and all 

his works. 
Drunkenness makes men fools ; some beasts, some devils. 
Drunkenness turns a man out of himself, and leaves a 

beast in his room. 
Ducks fare well in the Thames. 
Dumb folks get no land. 
Dying is as natural as living. 

E 

Early ripe, early rotten. 
Early sow, early mow. 
Early up, and never the near. 
Easy it is to bowl down hill. 
Easier it is to fall than rise. 
Easier it is to pull down than build. 



48 

Eat, and welcome ; fast, and heartily welcome. 

Ea^ peas with the king, and cherries with the beggar. 

Eat-well is drink-weirs brother. 

Eaten bread is forgotten. 

Education begins a gentleman, conversation completes 
him. 

Education polishes good nature, and correcteth bad ones. 

Eggs will be in three bellies in four and twenty hours. 

Either the hearer or relater of fopperies, must be a fool. 

Emulation layeth up a grudge. 

Emulation is lively and generous, envy base and .malici- 
ous. 

Empty hands allure no hawks. 

Empty vessels give the greatest sound. 

E'en venture on, as Johnson did on his wife. 

Enemies may serve for witnesses as well as friends may. 

England's the paradise of women, and hell of horses. 

Enough is as good as a feast. 

Enough is a feast, too much a vanity. 

Enough to keep the wolf from the door. 

Enquire not what boils in another's pot. 

Enter upon love when you will, but give over when you 
can. 

Envy and covetousness are never satisfied. 

Envy and Idleness married together beg6t Curiosity. 

Envy hath a leer of her father the devil, but cruelty his 
very face. 

Envy is ashamed and afraid to be seen. 

Envy is so shameful and cowardly a passion, that nobody 
ever had the confidence to own it. 

Envy never yet enriched any man. 

Envy shooteth at others, and woundeth herself. 

Error is always in haste. 



49 



Error is endless. 

Error, though blind herself, yet sometimes bringeth forth 
seeing children. 

Errors in the first concoction, are hardly mended in the 
second. 

Eternity has no grey hairs. 

Even a child may beat a man that is bound. 

Even a fly hath its spleen. 

Even a pin is good for something, and that is more than 
you are. 

Even a Venice-glass, if well kept, will last long. 

Even an ass will not fall twice in the same quick-sand. 

Even an emmet may seek revenge. 

Even as the blind man shot the crow. 

Even covetous men have sometimes their intervals of ge- 
nerosity. 

Even doubtful accusations leave a stain behind them. 

Even fools sometimes speak shrewdly. 

Even sugar itself may spoil a good dish. 

Even ill luck itself is good for something in a wise man's 
hand. 

Even reckonings keep long friends. 

Even too much praise is a burden. 

Evening oats are good morning fodder. 

Ever drink, ever dry. 

Every age confutes old errors, and begets new. 

Every ass loves to hear himself bray. 

Every ass thinks himself worthy to stand with the king x 
horses. 

Every bean hath its black. 

Every bird is known by its feathers. 

Every bird likes its own nest best. 

Every bird must hatch its own ecro. 



50 

Every block will not make a mercury. 

Every body's business is nobody's business. 

Every cock is proud on his own dunghill. 

Every day brings a new light. 

Every dog is stout at his own door. 

Every dog has its day, and every man his hour. 

Every fool can find faults, that a great many wise men 

cannot remedy. 
Every good scholar is not a good schoolmaster. 
Every heart hath its own ach. 
Every herring must hang by his own gills. 
Every horse thinks his own pack heaviest. 
Every man a little beyond himself is a fool. 
Every man doth his own business best. 
Every man for himself, and God for us all. 
Every man hath a fool in his sleeve. 
Every man hath his lot. 
Every man hath his own planet. 
Every man hath his weak side. 
Every man is a fool or a physician at forty. 
Every man is best known to himself. 
Every man is not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. 
Every man is the son of his own works. 
Every man living hath something to do. 
Every man must eat a peck of dirt before he dies. 
Every man's nose will not make a shooing-horn. 
Every man to his trade, quoth the boy to the bishop. 
Every man will shoot at the enemy, but few will gather 

the shafts. 
Every may-be hath a may-not-be. 
Every miller draws the water to his own mill. 
Every monkey will have his gambols, 
Every monster hath its multitudes. 



51 

Every mote doth not blind a man. 

Every one as they like, fas the woman said when she kis- 
sed her cow. 

Every one can keep house better than her mother, till she 
trieth. 

Every one can tame a shrew but he that has her. 

Every one hath a penny for the new alehouse. 

Every one is glad to see a knave caught in his own trap. 

Every one knows how to find fault. 

Every one lays his faults upon the times. 

Every one's faults are not written in their foreheads* 

Every one talks of what he loves. 

Every one thinks he knows much. 

Every one thinks himself able to advise another. 

Every path hath a puddle. 

Every penny that is taken is not clear gains. 

Every plummet is not for every sound. 

Every potter praises his own pot. 

Every reed will not make a pipe. 

Every scale hath its counterpoise. 

Every scrap of a wise man's time is worth saving. 

Every shoe fits not every foot. 

Every slip is not a fall* 

Every sow deserves not a sack-posset. 

Every sparrow to its ear of wheat. 

Every sprat, now-a-days, calls itself a herring. 

Every thing hath an end, and a pudding hath two. 

Every thing hath its time, and that time must be watched. 

Every thing is good in its season. 

Every thing is the worse for wearing. 

Every thing would live. 

Every tide will have an ebb. 

Every time the sheep bleats it loseth a mouthful. 

E 2 



52 

Every tub must stand upon its own bottom. 

Every tub smells of the wine it holds. 

Evil is soon believed. 

Examples are the best lessons for youth. 

Examples teach more than precepts. 

Excess of obligations may lose a friend. 

Exchange is no robbery. 

Experience is good, if not bought too dear. 

Experience is the father of Wisdom, and Memory the mo- 
ther. 

Experience is the great baffler of speculation. 

Experience is the mistress of fools. 

Experience perfects speculations. 

Experience teacheth fools, and he is a great one that will 
not learn by it. 



Face to face, the truth comes out. 

Faint heart never won fair lady. 

Faint praise is disparagement. 

Fair and foolish. 

Fair and softly goes far in a day. 

Fair Faces need no paint. 

Fair words fill not the belly. 

Fair words please fools. 

Faith sees b}^ the ears. 

Fall back, fall edge. 

Fame is a magnifying glass. 

Fame is a thin shadow of eternity. 

Fame is but the breath of the people, and that often un* 

wholesome. 
Fame is in the keeping of the mob. 
Fancy may bolt bran and think it flour. 



53 

Fancy may kill or cure. 

Fancy surpasses beimty. 

Far-fetched and dear-bought, is good for ladies. 

Far from court, far from care. 

Farewell and be hanged, friends must part. 

Fat housekeepers make lean executors. 

Fat paunches make lean pates. 

Fat sorrow is better than lean sorrow. 

Fate leads the willing, but drives the stubborn. 

Fathers, in reclaiming of a child, should outwit him, and 
seldom beat him. 

Faults of ignor <nce are excuseable only, where the igno- 
rance itself is so. 

Fear can keep a man out of danger, but courage only can 
support him in it. 

Fear is one part of prudence. 

Fear is stronger than love. 

Feather by feather, the goose is plucked. 

Feasting makes no friendship. 

February makes a bridge and March breaks it. 

Feed a pig and you will have a hog. 

Feeling hath no fellow. 

Felicity lies much in fancy. 

Felicity eats up circumspection. 

Fetters even of gold are heavy. 

Fetters of gold are still fetters, and silken cords pinch*. 

Few are fit to be entrusted with themselves. 

Few dare write the true news of their chamber. 

Few hearts that are not double, tew tongues that are not 
cloven. 

Few leaves and bad fruit. 

Few men will be better than their interest bids them. 

Few take wives for God's sake, or for fair looks. 

E 3 



54 

Few there are that will endure a true friend. 

Few things in the world will bear too much refining. 

Fie, fie ! horse-play is not for gentlemen. 

Fields have eyes and hedges ears. 

Fight dog 5 fight bear. 

Fine a poor man sixpence, and not a bottle of wine. 

Fine clothes oftentimes hide a base descent. 

Fine clothes wear soonest out of fashion. 

Fine cloth is never out of fashion. 

Fine dressing is usually a foul house swept before the 

door. 
Fire and water are good servants, but bad masters. 
Fire and water are not more necessary than friends are. 
Fire in flax will smoke. 

Fire, quoth the fox, when he pissed on the ice. 

First come, first served. 

Fish and guests smell at three days old. 

Fish are not to be caught with a bird-call. 

Fish makes no broth. 

Fish ought to swim thrice. 

Fishes follow the bait. 

Flattery displays a braver flag than humility. 

Flatterers haunt not cottages. 

Flattery gets favour. 

Flattery sits in the parlour, when plain dealing is kicked 
out of doors. 

Flesh never stands so high but a dog will venture his legs. 

Flight towards preferment will be but slow, without some 
golden feathers. 

Fling down the nests and the rooks will be gone. 

Follow the river and you will get to sea. 

Folly and learning (such as it is) often dwell in the same 
person, 



55 

Folly as well as wisdom is justified by its children. 

Folly is often sick of itself. 

Folly is never long pleased with itself. 

Folly is the product of all countries and ages. 

Folly is the queen regent of the world. 

Foolish fear doubleth danger. 

Fools and madmen ought not to be left in their own com- 
pany. 

Fools and obstinate men make the lawyers rich. 

Fools and philosophers were made out of the same metal. 

Fools are all the world over, as he said that shod the 
goose. 

Fools are always resolute to make good their own folly. 

Fools are not to be convinced. 

Fools are pleased with their own blunders. 

Fools are wise men in the affairs of women. 

Fool's bolts may sometimes hit the mark. 

Fools build houses, and wise men enjoy them. 

Fools grow without watering. 

Fool's haste is no speed. 

Fools have fortune. 

Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them. 

Fools may ask more in an hour, than wise men can an- 
swer in seven. 

Fools may invent fashions that wise men will wear. 

Fools may sometimes give wise men counsel. 

Fools lade out all the water, and wise men take the fish. 

Fools set stools tor wise men to stumble at. 

Fools tie knots and wise men loose them. 

Fools will be meddling. 

Fools will not part with their bauble for all Lombard- 
street. 



56 

Foppish dressing tells the world, the outside is the best of 
the puppet. 

Forbearance is no acquittance. 

Fore-cast is better than work-hard. 

Force without fore-cast is of little avail. 

For fashion's sake, as dogs go to church. 

Forget other's faults by remembering your own. 

Forge ting of a wrong is a mild revenge. 

For mad words deaf ears. 

For my own pleasure, as the man struck his wife. 

For one rich man that is content, there are an hundred 
that are not. 

For want of a nail the shoe is lost ; for want of a shoe the 
horse is lost ; for want of a horse the man is lost. 

For whom does the blind man's wife paint herself? 

Fortune can take from us nothing but what she gave us. 

Fortune favours fools. 

Fortune gives her hand to a bold man. 

Fortune is like the market, where many times, if you stay 
a little, the price will fall. 

Fortune is weary to carry one and the same man always. 

Fortune often lends her smiles, as churls do money, to un- 
do the debtor. 

Fortune often rewards with interest those that have pa- 
tience to wait for her. 

Fortune rarely brings good or evil singly. 

Four eyes see more than two. 

Foul water will quench fire. 

Foxes dig not their own holes. 

Foxes never fare better than when they are curst. 

Foxes prey farthest from their earths. 

Fraud and deceit are always in haste. 

Friends are not so soon got or recovered, as lost. 



57 

Friends are the nearest relations. 
Friends got without desert, will be lost without cause. 
Friendship and company are a bad excuse for ill actions. 
Friendship and importunate begging feed not at the same 

dish. 
Friendship consists not in saying, What's the best news ? 
Friendship increases in visiting friends, but in visiting 

them seldom. 
Friendship is not to be bought at a fair. 
Friendship is the most sacred of all moral bonds. 
Friendship is the perfection of love. 
Friendships multiply joys and divide griefs. 
Friendship that flames goes out in a flash. ■. 
Friendship, the older it grows, the stronger it is. 
Friends may meet, but mountains never. 
Friends need no formal invitation. 
Frightening of a bird is not the way to catch it. 
From fame to infamy is a beaten road. 
From our ancestors come our names, but from our virtues 

our honours. 
Frost and fraud have foul ends. 
Frugality is an estate alone. 
Fruit ripens not well in the shade. 
Full bellies make empty skulls. 
Full guts neither run away nor fight well. 
Full of courtesy and full of craft. 
Furniture and mane make the horse sell. 



Gadding gossips shall dine on the pot-lid. 
Gain got by a lie will burn one's fingers. 
Galled horses cannot endure the comb, 



58 

Gall in mirth is an ill mixture, and sometimes truth is 
bitter. 

Game is cheaper in the market than in the fields and 
woods. 

Garlands are not for every brow. 

Gaudy slothful people are wasps, that eat up the bees' ho- 
ney. 

Gay clothing is the happiness of children and the weakest 
women. 

Geese with geese, and women with women. 

Generally we love ourselves more than we hate others. 

Gentry by blood is bodily gentry. 

Getting out well is a quarter of the journey. 

Gifts break a rock. 

Gifts from enemies are dangerous. 

Gifts make beggars bold. 

Give a dog an ill name and his work is done. 

Give a man luck and throw him into the sea. 

Give a poor man sixpence, and not a bottle of wine. 

Give even the devil his due. 

Give him an inch and he'll take an ell. 

Give him but rope enough and he'll hang himself. 

Give losers leave to speak, and winners to laugh. 

Give not pearls to the hogs. 

Give the piper a penny to play, and twopence to leave off. 

Giving is dead, and restoring is deadly sick. 

Glowing coals will be sparkling. 

Go farther and fare worse. 

Go into the country to hear what news in town. 

Go steal a horse, and then you'll die without being sick. 

Go to another door, for this will not be opened. 

Goats are not sold at every fair. 



59 

God defend me from the still water, and I'll keep myself 

from the rough. 
God gave him no children, but the devil furnished him 

with "abundance of bastards. 
God give me a rich husband, though he be an ass. 
God gives whole days to the fortunate, and but some hours 

to the unhappy. 
God giveth his wrath by weight, but his mercy without 

measure, 
God grant me to contend with those that understand me. 
God help the fool, quoth Pedley. 
God help the rich, the poor can beg. 
God is always at leisure to do good to those that ask it. 
God keep me from the man that hath but one thing to 

mind. 
God knows who are the best pilgrims. 
God made no body to forsake him. 

God makes, and apparel shapes, but it is money that fin- 
ishes the man. 
God never sends mouths but he sends meat. 
God permits the wicked, but not for ever. 
God reaches us good things by our own hands. 
God save thee, and give thee a cloak. 
God's help is better than early rising. 
God send me a friend that will tell me of my faults. 
God sends cold after clothes. 
God sends meat and the devil sends cooks. 
God send you more wit and me more money. 
God who made the world so wisely, as wisely governs it. 
Gold and silver were mingled with dirt till avarice parted 

them. 
Gold causeth strange disorders when it falls into a fool's- 
hand. 



60 

Gold is no balm to a wounded spirit. 
Gold, when present, causeth fear ; when absent, grief. 
Golden dreams make men awake hungry. 
Gone is the goose that the great egg did lay. 
Good actions are the best sacrifices we can offer to God. 
Good actions carry their warrant with them. 
Good and evil are chiefly in the imagination. 
Good at a distance is better than evil at hand. 
Good bargains are pick-pockets. 
Good bees never turn to drones. 
Good blood makes poor pudding without suet. 
Good cheap is dear at long-run. 
Good clothes open all doors. 
Good coral needs no colouring. 
Good counsel makes a proud man and a fool angry. 
Good counsel never comes amiss. 
Good dancers have mostly better heels than heads. 
Good deeds remain, all things else perish. 
Good for the liver may be bad for the spleen. 
Good goose, don't, bite. 
Good horses cannot be of a bad colour. 
Good jests bite like lambs, not like dogs. 
Good kings never make war but for the sake of peace. 
Good language cures great sores. 
Good luck reaches farther than long arms. 
Good men are a public good. 

Good men must die, but death cannot kill them quite. 
Good men want the laws for nothing but to defend them- 
selves. 
Good nature is a great misfortune if it want prudence. 
Good nature is the proper soil upon which virtue grows. 
Good nature without prudence is foolishness. 
Good neighbours, and true friends, are two things. 



61 

Good offices are the cement of society. 

Good paymasters need no surety. 

Good paymasters need not bring a pawn. 

Good purposes should be the directors of good actions., not 
the apology for bad* 

Good swimmers are oftenest drowned. 

Good that comes too late is as good as nothing. 

Good ware makes a quick market. 

Good wine needs no bush. 

Good w T its jump. 

Good words cool more than cold water. 

Good words cost no more than bad. 

Good words cost nothing, but are worth much. 

Good words fill not a sack. 

Good works will never save you, but you can never be 
saved without them. 

Goods are theirs only who enjoy them. 

Goslins lead the geese to water. 

Gossiping and lying go together. 

Gossips and tale-bearers set a-fire all the houses thev come 
into. 

Government of the will is better than increase of know- 
ledge. 

Grain by grain, and the hen fills her belly. 

Grandfather's servants are never good. 

Grantham gruel, nine grats in a gallon of water. 

Grasp no more than thy hand will hold. 

Gratefulness is the poor man's payment. 

Gratitude is the least of virtues, but ingratitude is the 
worst of vices. 

Gratitude preserves old friendship, and procures new. 

Graves are of all sizes. 

Great and good are seldom the same man. 

F 



62 

&reat braggers, little doers. 

Great designs require great considerations. 

Great doings at G: egory's ; heat the oven twice for a euS- 
tard. 

Great gain makes work easy. 

Great guts and small hopes. 

Great honours and avarice fly one another. 

Great hopes make great men. 

Great marks are soonest hit. 

Great men have more adorers than friends. 

Great men's vices are accounted sacred. 

Great minds and great fortunes do not always go together. 

Great persons seldom see their face in a true glass. 

Great riches are of no real and substantial use. 

Great ships ask deep waters. 

Great solitude is a sort of madness. 

Great spirits are easy in prosperity and quiet in adver- 
sity. 

Great trees keep under the little ones. 

Great vices, as well as great virtues, make men famous. 

Great wealth and content seldom live together. 

Great wealth makes us neither more wise nor more heal- 
thy. 

Great weight may hang on small wires. 

Green wood makes hot fires. 

Grief pent up will burst the heart. 

Grief that gives way to verses is not very lamentable. 

Grieving for misfortunes is adding gall to wormwood. 

Guests that come by day-light are best received., 

Guilt is always jealous. 



GB 



H 

Hackney mistress, hackney maid. 

Half a loaf is better than no bread 

Half an acre is good land. 

Half-witted fellows speak much and say little* 

Halt not befoie a cripple. 

Hang him that has no shifts, and hang him that has One 
too many. 

Hang not all your bells upon one horse. 

Happy is he that is happy in his children. 

Happy is he that serveth the happy. 

Happy is he who hath sowed his wild oats betimes* 

Happy is he whose friends were born before him. 

Happy is the child whose father went to the devil. 

Happy is the man who sees his faults in his youth. 

Happy is the man whose enemies have been in small mat- 
ters 

Happy men shall have many- friends. 

Happiness generally depends more on the opinion we have 
of things, than on the things themselves. 

Hard fare makes hungry bellies. 

Hard with hard makes not the stone wall. 

Harrow hell and rake up the devil. 

Harvest comes not every day, though it come every year. 

Harvest will come, and then every farmers rich. 

Haste trips up its own heels. 

Hasty climbers have sudden falls. 

Hasty gamesters oversee themselves. 

Hasty glory goes out in a snuff. 

Hatred is blind, as well as love. 

Have a care of a silent dog and a still water. 

Have but a few friends, though much acquaintance; 

f 2 



64 

Have not thy cloak to make when it begins to rain. 

He a soldier, and knows not onion-seed from gun-pow- 
der? 

He bears misery best that hides it most. 

He bears poverty very ill who is ashamed of it. 

He begs a blessing of a wooden god. 

He benefits himself that doth good to others. 

He bought the fox-skin for threepence, and sold the tail 
for a shilling. 

He builds cages fit for oxen to keep birds in. 

He calls for a shooing-horn to help on his gloves. 

He came safe from the East Indies, and was drowned in 
the Thames. 

He can never be God's martyr that is the devil's servant. 

He cannot be good that knows not why he is good. 

He cannot speak well that cannot hold his tongue. 

He can swim without bladders. 

He cannot demand a flitch of bacon at Dunmow. 

He cares not whose child cries so his laughs. 

He carries too big a gun for me, I must not engage him. 

He changes his flag to conceal his being a pirate. 

He claws it as Clayton clawed the pudding, when he eat 
bag and all. 

He commands enough that obeyeth a wise man. 

He confesseth himself guilty who refuseth to come to a 
trial. 

He covers me with his wings and bites me with his bill. 

He could even eat my heart without salt. 

He cries wine and sells vinegar. 

He dances merrily whom fortune pipes to. 

He declares himself guilty who justifies himself before ac- 
cusation. 

He deserves not sweet that will not taste of sour. 



65 

He deserves not good that can away with bad. 
He did me as much good as if he had m — d in my pot- 
tage, 
He does bounty an injury, who shews her so much as to 

be laughed at. 
He does not believe, that does not live according to his 

belief. 
He doth much that doth a thing well. 
He drags his chain, and yet says 'tis others that are mad. 
He dwells far from neighbours who is fain to praise him* 

self. 
He eats in plate, but will die in irons. 
He eats the calf in the cow's belly. 
He fasts enough that has a bad meal. 
He fasts enough whose wife scolds all dinner-time. 
He frets like gummed taffety. 

He gave him a thing of nothing to hang upon his sleeve. 
He gets a double victory who overcomes himself, when he 

doth his enemy. 
He gives one knock on the iron and two on the anvil. 
He goes a great voyage that goes to the bottom of the 

sea. 
He goes not out of his way that goes to a good inn. 
He had better put his horns in his pocket than blow them. 
He had need of a long spoon that sups with the devil. 
He had need rise betimes who would please every body. 
He has a fair forehead to grafF on. 
He has a great fancy to marriage that goes to the devil 

for a wife. 
He has a head as big as a horse, and brains as much as 

an ass. 
He has a hole under his nose that all his money runs into. 
He has a mouth for every matter. 

f 3 



66 

He has an even hand to throw a louse into the fire. 

He has an ill look among lambs. 

He has as many tricks as a dancing bear. 

He has been out a hawking for butterflies. 

He has brought up a bird to pick out his own eyes. 

He has but a short Lent that must pay money at Easter, 

He has but bad food that feeds upon the faults of others. 

He has drank more than he has bled to-day. 

He has eat up the pot and asks for the pipkin. 

He has found a last for his shoe. 

He has good blood in him, but wants grotes to it. 

He has got the fiddle, but not the stick. 

He has great need of a wife that marries mamma's dar- 
ling. 

He has more guts than brains. 

He has more wit in his head than Sampson had in both 
his shoulders. 

He has most share in the wedding that lies with the bride. 

He has not lost all who has one cast left. 

He has nothing to eat, and yet invites guests. 

He has one face to God and another to the devil. 

He has the Bible in his hand, and the Alcoran in his 
heart. 

He has the greatest blind side who thinks he has none. 

He hath a colt's tooth yet in his old head. 

He hath a good judgment that relieth not wholly on his 
own. 

He hath been in the sun to-day, his fnce looks roasted. 

He hath conquered well that hath made his enemies fly. 

He hath cut both his legs, and cannot go nor stand. 

He hath fed too freely on a Neapolitan bisket. 

He hath good cards to shew for it. 

He hath impudence to shew himself a fool. 



61 

He hath left his purse in his other breeches. 

He hath lived ill that knows not how to die well. 

He hath made a good progress in a business,, that hatb 

thought well of it before- hand. 
He hath more faults than hairs, and more wealth than 

faults. 
He hath never a cross to bless himself withal. 
He hath no mean portion of virtue that loveth it in ano- 
ther. 
He hath played a wily trick and beguiled himself. 
He hath profited well that likes Cicero well. 
He hath slept well that remembers not he hath slept ill. 
He hath slipped a whiting. 

He hath some wit, but a fool hath the guidance of it. 
He hath stole a roll out of the brewer's basket. 
He hath swallowed a stake ; he cannot bow. 
He hath swallowed a gudgeon. 
He hath tied a knot with his tongue that he cannot untie 

with all his teeth. 
He injures a fair lady that beholds her not. 
He invites future injuries who rewards past ones. 
He is above his enemies that despises their injuries. 
He is a lion in a good cause. 
He is a more impudent thief that robbeth openly, than he 

that stealeth privately. 
He is a slave of the greatest slave who serveth nothing 

but himself. 
He is a very ill man who retaineth not a secret reverence 

for a good man. 
He is as hot as if he had a bellyful of wasps and salaman* 

ders. 
He is as much out of his element as an eel in a sand-bag, 
He is desperate that thinks himself so. 



68 

He is either a god or a painter, for he makes faces. 

He is false by nature that has a black head and a red 
beard. 

He is good as long as he is pleased, and so is the devil. 

He is handsome that handsome doth. 

He is happy that knoweth not himself to be otherwise. 

He is idle that might be better employed. 

He is ignoble that disgraces his brave ancestors by a vi- 
cious life. 

He is in great danger, who being sick, thinks himself well. 

He is lifeless, that is faultless. 

He is like a bell, that will go for every one that pulls it. 

He is miserable that dieth not before he desires to die. 

He is more noble that deserves, than he that confers be- 
nefits. 

He is my friend that succoureth me, not he that pitieth 
me. 

He is never alone who is accompanied with noble thoughts. 

He is no great heir that inherits not his ancestor's virtue. 

He is no wise man that cannot play the fool upon occa- 
sion. 

He is not a virtuous man that loveth it not even in an 
enemy. 

He is not born yet, and does he sneeze already ? 

He is not charitable that will not be so privately. 

He is not drunk gratis who pays his reason for his shot; 

He is not fit for riches who is afraid to use them. 

He is not good himsolf, w r ho speaks well of every body 
alike. 

He is not laughed at that laughs at himself first. 

He is not poor that hath not much, but he that craves 
much. 

He is not so much worth as his ears full of water. 



69 

He is not wise that is not wise for himself. 

He is one that will not lose his cap in a crowd. 

He is poor indeed that can promise nothing. 

He is rich enough that needeth neither flatter nor borrow. 

He is rich that is satisfied. 

He is sillier than a crab, that has all his brains in his beh» 

He is so poor that he has not salt to his porridge. 

He is so suspicious, that he cannot be got at without a 
stalking horse. 

He is so wary that he sleeps like a hare, with his eyes 
open. 

He is the best gentleman that is the son ', of his own de- 
serts. 

He is the son of a bachelor. 

He is the wretch that does the injury, not he that en- 
dures it. 

He is timorous indeed that is afraid of a dead bee. 

He is unworthy to live who lives only for himself. 

He is well onward in the way of wisdom who can bear re- 
proof, and mend by it. 

He is wise that hath wit enough for his own affairs. 

He is wiser than most men are who is honest. 

He is worth gold that carries it. 

He kills a man, that saveth not his life when he can. 

He kissed and stabbed at the same time. 

He knows not a hawk from a hand-saw. 

He knows not a pig from a dog. 
• He knows which side of his bread is buttered. 

He laughs ill that laughs himself to death. 

He leaps into a deep river to avoid a shallow brook. 

He lighted upon a lime-twig. 

He lights his candle at both ends. 



70 

He lives long that lives till all are weary of him. 

He lives longest that is awake most hours. 

He liveth long that liveth well. 

He loaths the spring-head and drinks the foul stream. 

He looks as big as if he had eaten buli-beef. 

He looks as though he had sucked his dam through a hur- 
dle 

He looks like a sow saddled. 

He looks like a wild cat out of a bush. 

He looks like the devil over Lincoln. 

He loseth indeed that loseth at last. 

He loseth nothing that keepeth God for his friend. 

He loseth thanks that promiseth and delayeth. 

He loves bacon well that licks the sow's breech. 

He loves mutton well that eats the wool 

He loves roast meat well that licks the spit. 

He loves you as a ferret does a rabbit, to make a meal of 
you. 

He makes a feint at the lungs, but lays his stroke on the 
head. 

He makes arrows of all sorts of wood. 

He may be trusted with a houseful of mill-stones. 

He may find fault, bu. let him mend it if he can. 

He may make a will upon his nail, for any thing he has 
to give. 

He may very well be contented that need not buy nor 
flatter. 

He mends like sour ale in summer. 

He merits no thanks that does a kindness for his own end. 

He must be a most sad fellow that nobody can please. 

He must have iron nails that scratcheth with a bear. 

He must have leave to speak who cannot hold his tongue. 

He must needs go whom the devil drives. 



71 

He must not talk of running that cannot go. 

He must stoop that hath a low door. 

He needs little advice that is lucky. 

t e neither ties nor unties. 

He never was good, neither egg nor bird. 

He never wrought a good day's work that went grumbling 
about it. 

He opens an oyster with a dagger. 

He passes sentence before he hears the evidence. 

He pins his faith upon another man's sleeve. 

He pitieth not the poor, who relieveth them not, when he 
well may. 

Pe plays well that wins. 

He preaches well that lives well. 

He promises like a merchant-man, and pays like a man- 
of-war 

He put a fine feather in his cap. 

he refuseth the bribe, but putteth forth his hand. 

He remembers his ancestors, but forgets to feed his chil* 
dren. 

He rode sure indeed that never caught a fall in his life. 

He runneth far indeed that never returneth. 

He sniled into Cornwall without a bark. 

He says any thing but his prayers, and them he whistles* 

He 'scaped hemp, but deserved a wooden halter. 

He seemeth wise with whom all things thrive. 

Fe sendeth to the East Indies for Kentish pippins* 

He set my house U-fire only to roast his eggs. 

He shall have enough to do who studies to please fools* 

He signifies no more than a blind cat in a barn. 

He sits up by moon-shine and lies a-bed in sun-shine. 

1 e skips like hail on a pack-ssddle 

He sneaks as if he would creep into his mouth* 



72 

He speaks as if every word would lift a dish. 

He speaks one word nonsense, and two that have nothing 

in them. 
He spent Michaelmas rent in Midsummer moon. 
He spits out secrets like hot custard. 
He steals a hog, and gives away the feet in alms. 
He struck at Tib, but down fell Tim. 
He sups ill who eats up all at dinner. 
He takes in good counsel like cold porridge. 
He takes pepper in his nose. ~ 

He talks in the Bear-garden tongue. 
He teaches me to be good that does me good. 
He teacheth ill that teacheth all. 
He tells me my way, and does not know it himself. 
He, that after sinning mends, recommends himself i® 

God. 
He that always complains is never pitied. ^ 

He that always fears dangers always feels it. 
He that always makes God's will his, is never crossed. 
He that asketh a courtesy promiseth a kindness. 
He that asketh faintly beggeth a denial. 
He that banquets every day never makes a good meal. 
He that beareth a torch shadoweth himself to give light 

to others. 
He that bestoweth but a bone on thee would not have thee 

die. 
He that bites on every weed may light on poison. 
He that blows a trumpet at his alms is' a Pharisee. 
He that blows in the dust fills his own eyes. 
He that boasteth of himself affront eth his company. 
He that boasteth of his ancestors confesseth he hath ne 

virtue of his own. 



73 

He that boasts of his own knowledge proclaims his igno- 
rance. 

He that bringeth a present findeth the door open. 

He that brings up his son to nothing, breeds a thief. 

He that builds castles in the air will soon have no land. 

He that buyeth magistracy must sell justice. 

He that buys and lies, shall feel it in his purse. 

He that can abide a curst wife need not fear what compa- 
ny he liveth in. 

He that cannot abide a bad market deserves not a good 
one. 

He that cannot conceal his own shame will not conceal 
another's. 

He that can read and meditate, need not think the even- 
ings long, or life tedious. 

He that can reply calmly to an angry man is too hard for 
him. 

He that cannot ride a gentle horse must not attempt to 
back a mad colt. 

He that casteth all doubts shall never be resolved. 

He that ceaseth to be a friend never was a good one. 

He that chastiseth one amendeth many. 

He that cheateth in small things is a fool, but in great 
things is a rogue. 

He that comes after sees with more eyes than his own. 

He that commandeth well shall be obeyed well. 

He that contemplates on his bed hath a day without a 
night. 

He that converses not, knows nothing. 

He that considers in prosperity will be less afflicted in ad- 
versity. 

He that cuts himself wilfully deserves no balsam. 

He that dallies with his enemy gives him leave to kill him- 

Q 



n 

He that dares not venture must not complain of ill luck. 
He that deal* with a senseless man had need of a good 

deal of sense. 
Ke that defends an injury is next to him that commits it. 
He that desires but little has no need of much. 
He that despises shame wants a bridle. 
He that died half a year ago is as dead as Adam. 
He that dies troubles his parents but once, but he that 

lives ill torments them perpetually. 
He that dies young has made a quick voyage of it. 
He that does any thing for the public, is accounted to do 

it for nobody. 
He that does not love a woman sucked a sow. 
He that does not speak truth to me, does not believe me 

when I speak truth. 
He that does you a very ill turn will never forgive you. 
Fe that dceth his own business hurteth not his hand. 
He that doth a good turn louketh for a good turn. 
Ke that doth good for praise only meriteth but a puff of 

wind. 
He that doth not as he ought, must not look to be done 

to as he would. 
He that dptb well wearieth not himself. 
He that doth what he will, oft doth not what he ought. 
He that eats most porridge shall have most meat. 
He that eats the king's geese shall be choaked with the 

feathers. 
He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well. 
He that eats well and drinks well should do his duty well. 
Fie thajt falls in the dirt, the longer he lies the dirtier he 

is. 
He that falls to-day may be up again to-morrow. 
He that feareth every bush must never go a birding. 



He that fears danger in time seldom feels it. 

He that fears not the future may enjoy the present. 

He that fears you present will hate you absent. 

He that feasteth a flatterer and a slanderer, dineth with 

two devils. 
He that feeds upon charity has a cold dinner and no sup- 
per. 
He that finds a thing, steals it,- if he endeavours not to 

restore it 
He that first came is not sure to be first served. 
He that flatters himself in sciences, and grows worse in 

morals, makes no improvement. 
He that flings dirt at another dirtieth himself most. 
He that follows Nature is never out of his way. 
He that gets an estate will probably never spend it. 
He that gives himself leave to play with his neighbour's 

fame, may sOon play it away. 
He that gives his heart will not deny his money. 
He that gives time to resolve, gives time to deny, and 

warning to prevent. 
He that gives to a grateful man puts out to usury. 
He that gives to a worthy person bestows a benefit upon 

himself. 
He that gives to be seen would never relieve a man in the 

dark. 
He that giveth customarily to the vulgar buyeth trouble. 
He that giveth to a good man selleth well. 
He that goes a great way for a wife is either cheated, or 

means to cheat, 
He that goes continually abroad a borrowing, shews he has 

little at home of his own. 
He that goes the contrary way must go it over twice. 

g 2 



76 

He that goes to church with an ill intention, goes to God's 
house on the devil's errand. 

He that goes to church with brothers-in-law, comes back 
without kindred. 

He that grasps at too much holds nothing fast. 

He that gropes in the dark finds what he would not. 

He that groweth worse was never good. 

He that handles a nettle tenderly is soonest stung. 

He that handles pitch shall foul his fingers. 

He that handles thorns shall smart for it. 

He that has a great nose thinks every body is speaking 
of it. 

He that hath a mouth of his own should not say to ano- 
ther, Blow, 

He that has a sword, and goes home to feth a better, ne- 
ver comes again. 

He that has a hundred and one, and owes a hundred and 
two, the Lord have mercy upon him. 

He that has an ill name is half hanged. 

He that has but four, and spends five, has no need of a 
purse. 

He that has but one coat cannot lend it. 

He that has but one eye had need look well to that. 

He that has but one eye, is a prince among those that 
have none. 

He that has but one hog makes him fat, and he that has 
but one son makes him a fool. 

He that has feathered his nest may fly when he will. 

He that has led a wicked life is afraid of his own memory. 

He that has most time has none to lose. 

He that has lost his credit is dead to the world. 

He that has no charity merits no mercy. 



77 

He that has no fools, knaves, nor beggars in his family. 

was begot by a flash of lightning. 
He that has no head deserves not a laced hat. 
He that has no heart ought to have heels. , 
He that no modesty has all the town for his own. 
He that has no shame has no conscience. 
He that has no silver in his purse should have silver on 

his tongue. 
He that has nothing is frighted at nothing. 
He that has nothing to spare must not keep a dog. 
He that has purchased the devil must make the most of 

him. 
He that has the worst cause makes the most noise. 
He that has too little wants wings to fly, he that has too 

much is encumbered with his large tail. 
He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun. 
He that hath a white horse and a fair wife never wants- 

trouble; 
He that hath a wife and children wants no business. 
He that hath a wife and children must not sit with his 

fingers in his mouth. 
He that hath good corn may be content with some this- 
tles. 
He that hath love in his breast hath spurs at his heels. 
He that hath some land must have some labour. 
He that hath time, and looketh for a better time, loseth 

time. 
He that helpeth the ^vil hurteth the good. 
He that hews above his height, may have chips in his 

eyes. 
He that hoardeth up money taketh pains for other men. 
He that hopes no good fears no ill. 

g3 



78 

He that hinders not a mischief when it is in his power, is 
guilty of it. 

He that hunts after vanity shall take vexation. 

He that is a cuckold, and allows it, may be so for ever. 

He that imagines he has knowledge enough has none. 

He that is busy is tempted but by one devil, he that is 
idle by a legion. 

He that is carried down the torrent catcheth at every 
thing. 

He that is disposed for mischief will never want occasion. 

He that is drunk is gone from home. 

He that is every where is no where. 

He that is grateful would recompense if he could. 

He that is heady is ruled by a fool. 

He that is innocent may well be confident. 

He that is kinder than he was wont hath a design upon 
thee. 

He that is known to have no money has no friends nor 
credit. 

He that is master of himself will soon be master of others. 

He that is needy when he is married, shall scarce be rich 
when he is buried 

He that is not above an injury is below himself. 

He that is not company-proof will be ensnared in com- 
pany. 

He that is not sensible of his loss has lost nothing. 

He that is only his own pupil shall have a fool to his tu- 
tor. 

He that is open to flattery is fenced against admonition. 

He that is poor, all his kindred scorn him ; he that is 
rich, all are kin to him. 

He that is presently denied is least deceived* 



79 

He that is proud of his fine clothes, fetches his reputation 

from his tailor. 
He that is shameless is graceless. 
He that is too busy in mending and judging of others, 

will never be good himself. 
He that is too proud to ask is too good to receive. 
He that is too secure is not safe. 
~^>He that is thrown would ever wrestle. 

He that is uneasy at every little pain is never without 

some ach. 
He that is well, and ventures to be ill, deserves no pity 

when it happens. 
He that is well sheltered is a fool if he stir out into the 

rain. 
He that is without money is a bird without wings. 
He that is won with a nut may be lost with an apple. 
He that keeps malice harbours a viper in his breast. 
He that keeps up his riches and lives poorly, is like an ass 

that carries gold and eats thistles. 
He that kills a man when he is drunk, must be hanged 

when he is sober. 
He that kisseth his wife in the market-place shall have e* 

nough to teach him. 
He that knoweth useful things, not he that knows many 

things, is the wise man. 
He that knows how to waste finds every thing to his pur-* 

pose. 
He that knows least commonly presumes most. 
He that knows little often repeats it* 
He that knows not how to hold his tongue knows not how 

to talk. 
He that labours and thrives spins gold, 



60 

He that laughs when he is alone will make sport in com- 
pany. 
He that leaves the highway to cut short, commonly goes 

about. 
He that lets his fish escape into the water, may cast his 

net often yet never catch it again 
He that licks honey from a nettle pays too dear for it. 
He that lies down with the dogs must rise with the fleas. 
He that lieth upon the ground can fall no lower. 
He that listens after what people say of him shall never 

have peace. 
He that lives a knave will hardly die an honest man. 
He that lives long suffers much. 
He that lives not well one year sorrows for it seven. 
He that iives on hope has but a s'ender diet. 
He that lives with the muses shall die in the straw. 
He that liveth in hope danceth without a fiddle. 
He that looks for a requital serves himself, not me. 
He that looks too nicely into things never lives easy. 
He that loseth his wealth is wanted to have lost his wits. 
He that loseth his wife and sixpence hath lost a tester. 
He that loves himself too much loves an ill man. 
He that makes a good war makes a good peace. 
He that makes a question where there is no doubt, must 

take an answer where there is no reason. 
He that makes himself an ass, must not take it ill if men 

ride him. 
He that makes his bed ill must be contented to lie ill. 
He that makes one basket may make a hundred. 
He that makes the shoe cannot tan the leather. 
He that maketh a fire of straw hath much smoke, and but 

little warmth. 



81 

He that marries a wife and three children marries four 
thieves. 

He that marrieth for wealth sells his liberty. 

He that mindeth not his own business shall never be trust* 
ed with mine. 

He that never took oar in his hand must not think scorn 
to be taught. 

He that nothing questioneth nothing learneth. 

He that overcomes his passions overcomes his greatest en* 
emies. 

He that overfeeds his senses feasteth his enemies. 

He that passeth a judgment as he runs overtaketh repen- 
tance. 

He that payeth beforehand shall have his work ill done. 

He that pays lust never pays twice. 

He that payeth another remembereth himself. 

He that plants tree* i^ves others besides himself. 

He that praiseth bestows a favour, he that detracts com- 
mits a robbery. 

He that praiseth publicly will slander privately. 

He that preacheth up war when it might well be avoided, 
is the devil's chaplain. 

He that prepares for ill gives the blow a meeting, and 
breaks its stroke. 

He that promises too much means nothing. 

He that protects an ill man may live to repent of it. 

He that pryeth into the clouds may be struck with a thun- 
derbolt. 

He that punisheth another in anger, shall feel it himself 
when the fit is over. 

He that puts on a public gown must put off a private per- 
son. 

He that reckoneth before his host must reckon again, 



S2 

He that regardeth not his reputation despiseth virtue. 

He that regards not a penny will lavish a pound. 

He that refuses praise the first time does it, because he. 
would have it the second. 

He that remembers his virtues too much, bids others think 
of his vices. 

He that repents of a fault upon right grounds is almost in- 
nocent. 

He that repents of his own act either is, or was a fool by 
his own confession. 

He that requites a benefit pays a great debt. 

He that resisteth his own evil inclinations obeys God. 

He that resolves to deal with none but honest men, must 
leave off dealing. 

He that returns a good for evil obtains the victory. 

He that rewards flattery begs it. 

He that rides behind another must not think to £uid<»- 

He that runs in the dark may well stumble. 

He that runs may rally. 

He that runs out by extravagancy must 1 retrieve by parsi- 
mony. 

He that is afraid of every nettle must not p— in the grass. 

He that is afraid to do good would be ill if he durst. 

He that, is always shooting must sometimes hit. 

He that is angry without a cause, must be pleased without 
amends. 

He that is a wise man by day is no fool by night. 

He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned. 

He that is carried down the stream needs not row. 

He that is cheated twice by the same man, is an accom- 
plice with the cheater. 
He that is down, down with him, cries the world. 
He that is full takes no care for him that is fasting. 



83 

He that is ill to himself will be good to nobody. 

He that is killed by a cannon was cursed in his mother's 

belly. 
He that is man'd with boys and hors'd with colts, shall 

have his meat eaten and his work undone. 
He that is not handsome at twenty, strong at thirty, wise 
at fort}', rich at fifty, will never be handsome, strong, 
wise, or rich. 
He that saveth his dinner will have the more for supper. 
He that scattereth thorns must not go barefoot. 
He that scoffs at the crooked had need go very uprighf 

himself. 

He that seeketh trouble never misseth of it. 
He that seeks danger perisheth therein unpitied. 
He that serveth the devil hath a hard service of it. 
He that serves at the altar ought to live by the altar. 
He tbat serves every body is paid by nobody. 
He that serves well need not be afraid to ask his wages. 
He that sets his net betimes, may expect a fuller draught 

than he that fishes later. 
He that sharply chides is the most ready to pardon. 
He that sheweth his wealth to a thief is the cause of his 

own pillage. 
He that shews a passion, tells his enemy where he may 

hit him. 
He that shews his purse longs to be rid of it. 
He that sins that he may repent, surfeits that he may take 

a vomit. 
He that sits to work in the market-place shall have many 

teachers 
He that slights his enemy dies by his hand. 
He that sows in the highway tires his oxen, and loseth his 
corn. 



84 

He that sows iniquity shall reap sorrow. 

He that sows thistles shall reap prickles. 

He that spares the bad injures the good. 

He that speaks ill of his wife dishonoureth himself. 

He that speaks sows, he that hears reaps. 

He that speaks without care shall remember with sorrow. 

He that spends to his proportion is as brave as a prince, 
and a prince exceeding that is a prodigal. 

He that spends without regard shall want without pity. 

He that stays in the valley shall never get over the hill. 

He that steals can hide. 

He that stumbles, and falls not quite, gains a step 

He that stumbles twice at the same stone deserves to have 
his shins broke. 

He that strikes my dog, would strike me if he durst. 

He that strikes with his tongue must ward with his head. 

He that sweareth falsely denieth God. 

He that swells in prosperity will shrink in adversity. 

He that sups upon sallad goes not to bed fasting. 

He that takes a wife at Shrewsbury must carry her to Staf- 
fordshire, else she will drive him to Cumberland. 

He that takes not up a pin slights his wife. 

He that takes a pet at a feast loses it all. 

He that takes the devil into his boat must carry him over 
the sound. 

He that takes too great a leap falls into the ditch. 

He that talks to himself talks to a fool. 

He that tells a lie buffeteth himself. 

He that tells his wife is but lately married. 

He that the devil drives feels no lead at his heels. 

He that thinks himself a cuckold carries live coals in his 
heart. 



85 

He that thinks his business below him, will always be a< 
bove his business. 

He that ties up another man's dog, shall have nothing left 
him but the line. 

He that travels much knows much. 

He that trusteth to the world is sure to be deceived. 

He that trusts to borrowing ploughs will have his land lie 
fallow. 

He that waits for dead men's shoes may go barefoot. 

He that waits upon another's trencher makes many a lit- 
tle dinner. 

He that walketh with the virtuous is one of them. 

He that wants business may fit out a ship, or take a wife. 

He that wants hope is the poorest man alive. 

He that wants money is accounted among those that want 
wit. 

He that was born under a three-halfpenny planet shall ne- 
ver be worth twopence. 

He that weighs the wind must have a steady hand. 

He that will conquer must fight. 

He that will enter paradise must come with a right key. 

He that will have the kernel must crack the shell. 

He that will not bear the itch must endure the smart. 

He that will not be counselled cannot be helped. 

He that will not be saved needs no sermon. 

He that will not live a saint can never die a martyr. 

He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never 
put to sea. 

He that will not sail till he have a full fair wind, will lose 
many a voyage. 

He that will not stoop for a pin shall never be worth a 
point. 



86 

He that will not "suffer evil must never think of prefer- 
ment. 
He that will outwit the fox must rise betimes. 
He that will sell lawn must learn to fold it. 
He that worketh wickedness by another is wicked himself. 
He that works journey-work with the devil shall never 

want work. 
He that worst may still holds the candle. 
He that would hang his dog gives out first that he is mad. 
He that would have a bad morning may walk out in a fog 

after a frost. 
He that would have a bad night may injure his conscience 

that day. 
He that would have a hare for his breakfast must hunt 

over night 
He that would have the fruit must climb the tree. 
He that would know what shall be, must consider what 

hath been. 
He that would learn to pray let him go to sea. 
Pie that would right understand a man must read his whole 

story. 
He that would thrive by law, must fee his enemy's counsel 

as well as his own. 
He thought to have turned iron into gold, and he turned 

gold into iron. 
He threatens many that is injurious to one. 
He toucheth it as warily as a cat doth a coal of fire. 
Ke travelled with Mandevile. 
He useth fh rake more than the fork, 
Fe wants nothing now but the itch to scratch. 
He was born within the sound of Bow-bell. 
He was scarce of news who told that his father was hang- 
ed. 



87 

He who beggeth for others is contriving for himself. 

He who cannot counterfeit a friend can never be a very 

bad enemy. 
He who cometh in late has an ill lodging. 
He who fasteth and doth no good, saveth his bread but 

loseth his soul. 
He who findeth fault meaneth to buy. 
He who greases his wheels helps his oxen. 
He who has but one eye is always wiping it. 
He who hath a trade hath a share every where. 
He who hath bitter in his breast spits not all sweet. 
He who hath money and capers is provided for Lent. 
He who imparts wisdom to another purifies and exalts his 

own mind. 
He who is ashamed of his calling ever liveth shamefully 

in it. 
He who is born a fool is never cured. 
He who is not lucky let him not go a-fishing. 
He who is the offender is never the fo reiver. 
He who is wanting but to one friend loseth a great many 

by it. 
He who killeth a lion when absent, feareth a mouse when 

present. 
He who laugheth too much hath the nature of a fool, he 

that laugheth not at all hath the nature of an old cat. 
He who owes a hundred, and has a hundred and one, fears 

nobody. 
He who oweth is in all the wrong. 

He whose belly is full believes not him whose is empty. 
He whose father is judge goes safe to his trial. 
He who plants a walnut tree expects not to eat of th^ 

fruit. 

h 2 



88 

He who sets one foot in a bawdy-house claps t'other in an 

hospital. 
He who shareth honey with a bear hath the least part of 

it. 
He who sleepeth all the morning may go a begging all the 

day after. 
He who threateneth hunteth after a revenge. 
He who trusteth not is not deceived. \ 

He who trusts all things to chance makes a lottery of his 

life. - 
He who wants content cannot find an easy chair. 
He who was never sick dies the first fit. 
He will ill catch a bird flying that cannot keep his own in 

a cage. 
He will never get to heaven that desires to go thither a* 

lone. 
He will not give the way even to a blind man. 
He will shoot higher that shoots at the moon, than he that 

shoots at a dunghill, though he miss the mark. 
He would be quarter-master at home if his wife would let 

him. 
He would fain fly, but wants feathers. 
He would find waters with the first stroke of his spade. 
He would live even in a gravel-pit. 
He would not lend his knife, no, not to the devil to stab 

himself. 
He wounded a dead man to the heart. 
He wrongs not an old man who steals his supper from 

him. 
He'll as soon eat sand as do a good turn. 
Hell bring buckle and thong together. 
He'll dance to nothing but his own pipe. 
He'll eat till he sweats, and work till he freezes, 



89 

He'll find money for mischief when he can find none for 

corn. 
He'll ne'er do right, nor suffer wrong. / 

He'll ne'er get a pennyworth that is afraid to ask a price. 
He'll ne'er have enough till his mouth is full of mould. 
He'll rather die with thirst than take the pains to draw 

water. 
He'll soon be a beggar that cannot say nay. 
He'll swear the devil out of hell. 
He'll turn rather than burn. 
He's a blockhead that cannot make two verses, and he's 3 

fool that makes four. 
He's a fool that is not melancholy once a day. 
He's a fool that is wiser abroad than at home. 
He's a friend at a sneeze ; the most you can get of him is 

a God bless you. 
He's a friend to none that is a friend to all. 
He's a good man whom fortune makes better. 
He's a hawk of the right nest. 

He's a hot shot in a mustard pot, with his heels upright. 
He's a little fellow, but every bit of that little is bad. 
He's a pretty fellow of an orator that makes panegyric of 

himself. 
He's a proud fox that will not dig his own hole. 
He's a puddled stream from a pure spring. 
He's a slave that cannot command himself. 
He's a thief, for he has taken a cup too much. 
He's a wise man that leads passion by the bridle. 
He's an excellent man that can wear poverty decently. 
He's an ill boy that goes like a top, no longer than it is 

whipt. 
He's an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers. 

H 3 



90 

He's an ill man that takes by force when he can have free- 

iy- 

He's as brisk as bottled ale. 

He's as sharp as if he lived upon Tewksbury mustard. 

He's at a great loss for jests that is forced to rake hell for 

them. 
He's born in a good hour who gets a good name. 
He's drinking at the harrow when he should be driving his 

plough. 
He's dwindled down from a pot to a pipkin. 
He's in great want of a bird that will give a groat for an 

owl. 
He's like a bagpipe, you never hear him till his belly is 

full. 
He's like a fox, grey before he is good. 
He's like Garby, whose soul neither God nor the devil 

would have. 
He's madder than mad who selleth heaven for earth. 
He's miserable indeed that must lock up his miseries. 
He's my friend that grindeth at my mill. 
He's my friend that speaks well of me behind my back. 
He's not honest whom the lock only makes honest. 
He's not the best carpenter that makes the most chips. 
He's not ungrateful that cannot, but he that will not re- 
pay. 
He's overshot in his own bow. 
He's poor indeed whom God hates. 
He's so covetous, that he will not give even a cup of cold 

water 
He's so full of himself that he is quite empty. 
He's so great a thief, that he stole even a piece of a halter 

from the gallpws. 



91 

He's so much a thief, that he will steal away even the com- 
mandments. 

He's wise that knows when he is well enough. 

He's won with a feather and lost with a straw, 

Health is great riches. 

Health is not valued till sickness comes. 

Health without wealth is half a sickness. 

Hearts may agree though heads differ. 

Heaven is a cheap purchase, whatever it cost. 

Heaven is worth the whole world. 

Heaven will make amends for all. 

Heaven, without good society, cannot be heaven. 

Hedgehogs lodge among thorns, because themselves are 
prickly. 

Hell and Chancery are always open. 

Hell is full of good meanings and wishes, but heaven is 
full of good works. 

Hell is full of the ungrateful. 

Hell is wherever heaven is not. 

Help the lame dog over the stile. 

Her hands are on the wheel, but her eyes are in the street, 

Her pulse beats matrimony. 

Her shoulder is with child. 

Her tongue steals away all the time from her hands. 

Here I left a needle, and here I will find it. 

Here if you beat a bush, its odds but you start a thief. 

Here's talk of the Turk and Pope, but it is my next neigh- 
bour that does me the harm. 

Hertfordshire kindness. 

High buildings have a low foundation. 

High-flying hawks are fit for princes. 

High places have their precipices. 

High winds blow on high hills. 



92 

Highways and streets have not all the thieves ; shops have 

ten for one. 
His brain is not big enough for his skull. 
His brains want no barm to make them work. 
His cart is full. 
His clothes are worth a hundred pounds, but his wit is 

dear of a groat. 
His learning overbalanceth his brain, and so is a burden. 
His lungs are very sensible, for every thing makes them 

laugh. 
His milk boiled over. 
His mill will go with all winds. 

His promises are lighter than the breath that utters them. 
His purse and his palate are ill met. 
His shoes are made of running leather. 
His tongue goes always of errands, but never speeds. 
His tongue is as cloven as the devil's foot. 
His tongue is no slander. 
Hoist your sail when the wind is fair. 
Hold fast an eel with a fig leaf. 
Hold fast is the first point in hawking 
Hold your tongue, husband ; let me talk, that have all the 

wit. 
Holding an eel too fast is the way to let her escape. 
Home is home, be it never so homely. 
Honest is the cat when the meat is upon the hook. 
Honest men and knaves may possibly wear the same cloth. 
Honest men are justified by the light. 
Honest men are soon bound, but you can never bind a 

knave. 
Honest men fear neither the light nor the dark. 
Honest men never have the love of a rogue. 
Honest men's words are as good as their bonds. 



93 

Honest millers have golden thumbs. 

Honesty and plain dealing puts knavery out of the bias. 

Honesty is a fine jewel, but much out of fashion. 

Honesty is the best policy. 

Honesty may be dear bought, but can never be a dear 

pennyworth. 
Honest};, now-a-days, wants a guard. 
Honey is not for the ass's mouth. 
Honey is sweet, but the bee stings. 
Honey is too good for a bear. 
Honour and ease are seldom bedfellows. 
Hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper. 
Hope is as cheap as despair. 
Hope is worth any money. 

Hope keeps a man from hanging and drowning himself 
Hope well and have well, quoth Hickwell. 
Hopes and fears chequer human life. 
Hopes delayed hang the heart upon tenterhooks. 
Hopes of pardon mend not, but encourage criminals, 
Hot love is soon cold. 
Hot men harbour no malice. 
Hot sup, hot swallow. 
Hours of pleasure are short. 
How can the cat help it, if the maid be a fool ? 
How can the foal amble when the horse and mare trot ? 
How can you think yourself the wiser for pleasing fools ? 
How difficult a thing it is, to persuade most men to be 

happy ! 
How happy is he that owes nothing but to himself! 
How many deaths must he die, that lives till he desires to 

die! 
How many things hath he to repent of that lives long ! 
Human blood is all of a colour. 



94 

Human Inventions are no essential parts of divine wor- 
ship. 

Human laws reach not thoughts. 

Humility will exalt you, though sheepishness will not. 

Hunger cannot bear contradiction. 

Hunger fetches the wolf out of the woods. 

Hunger finds no fault with the cookery. 

Hunger is not dainty. 

Hunger is not satisfied with wise sentences. 

Hunger is the best sauce. 

Hunger makes raw beans relish well. 

Hunger scarce kills any, but gluttony and drunkenness 
multitudes. 

Hunger will break through stone walls. 

Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings. 

Hungry horses make a clean manger. 

Hungry men think the cook lazy. 

Hunting has as much pain as pleasure. 

Husband, don't believe what you see, but what I tell you. 

Husband, you are a cuckold ; Wife, who told you so ? 

Husbands are in heaven whose wives chide not. 

Hypocrisy is a sort of homage that vice pays to virtue. 

Hypocrites are a sort of creatures that God never made. 

Hypocritical honesty goes upon stilts. 

Hypocritical piety is double iniquity. 



I am as full as a jade, quoth the bride. 

I am not sorry that my son loses at play, but that he will 

seek his revenge. 
I arn talking of hay, and you of horse beans. 
I ask for a fork and you bring me a rake. 
I cannot be at York and London at the same time. 



95 

I cannot believe you, you speak so fair. 

I cannot run and sit still at the same time. 

I cannot spin and weave at the same time. 

I cannot be your friend and your flatterer too. 

I deny that with both my hands, and all my teeth. 

I do not hear that a bribe on both sides is out of fashion. 

I gave you a stick to break my own head with. 

I had no thought of catching you, when I fished for ano- 
ther. 

I had rather be fed with jack-boots than with such stories. 

I had rather my cake burn than you should turn it. 

I have a crow to pluck with you. 

I have a cold coal to blow at. 

I have a good bow, but I cannot come at it. 

I have a good cloak, but it is in France. 

I have a tangled skain of it to wind off. 

I have cured her from lying in the hedge, quoth the good- 
man when he married his daughter. 

I have more to do than a dish to wash. 

I have other fish to fry. 

I hope I may tie up my own sack when I please. 

I hope better, quoth Benson, when his wife bade him come 
in, cuckold. 

I know enough to hold my tongue, but not to speak. 

I know he will come by his long tarrying. 

I know him as well as if I had gone through him with a 
lighted link. 

I know him as well as the beggar knows his dish. 

I know him not though I should meet him in my por- 
ridge. 

I know of nobody that has a mind to die this year. 

I like writing with a peacock's quill, because its feathers 
are all eyes. 



96 

I live, and lords do no more. 

I love to stand aloof from Jove and his thunderbolts. 

I love you well, but touch not my pocket. 

I myself had been happy, if I had been unfortunate in 
time. 

I never asked you for wood to heat my own oven with. 

I never desired you to stumble at the stone that lieth at 
my door. 

I never fared worse than when I wished for supper. 

I now see which leg you are lame of. 

I shall never turn my ninepence into a noble by this bar- 
gain. 

I sucked not this out of my finger's ends. 

I taught you to swim, and now you would drown me. 

I thought I had given her rope enough, said Petley when 
he hanged his mare. 

I thought to bless myself, and I beat out both my eyes. 

I took him for a worm, but he proved a serpent. 

I took him napping, as Moss caught his mare. 

I wept when I was born, and now every day shews why. 

I will be thy friend, but not thy vices' friend. 

I will christen my own child first. 

I will do my good will, as he that threshed in his cloak. 

I will either win the horse or lose the saddle. 

I will give you a crown a-piece for your lies, if you will 
let me have them all. 

I will give you a shirt full of sore bones. 

I will keep no cats that will not catch mice. 

I will make him dance without a pipe. 

I will never keep a dog to bite me. 

I will never stoop so low to take up just nothing at all. 

I will not buy a pig in a poke. 



97 

I will not change my cottage in possession for a palace in 

reversion. 
I will not dance to every fool's pipe. 
I will not keep a dog and bark myself. 
I will not make my dish-clout my table-cloth. 
I will not play my ace of trumps yet. 
I will not pull the thorn out of your foot to put it into 

mine. 
I will not suffer you to pay for this in another world. 
I will not touch her with a pair of tongs. 
I will not want when I have it, and have it not too. 
I will set a spoke in your cart for you. 
I will send him away with a flea in his ear. 
I will stick in your skirts for this. 

I will watch your water-gate. 

I would have a good horse for myself, not for my brother- 

I would have the fruit, not the basket. 

I would not do it to have the king my cousin. 

I would not have your cackling for your eggs. 

I would not trust him, no, not with a bag of scorpions. 

If a fool have success it ruins him. 

If a louse miss its footing on his coat, it will be sure to 
break its neck. 

If a man once fall, all will tread upon him. 

If a poor man give thee ought, it is, that thou should'st 
give him something better. 

If a wise man should never miscarry, the fool would burst. 

If a word be worth a shilling, silence is worth two. 

If afflictions refine some, they consume others. 

If all the world were ugly, deformity would be no mon- 
ster. 

If an ass goes a travelling, he will not come home an horse. 



98 

If an ass kick you, will you kick him again, or put him 

into the court ? 
If any fool finds the cap fits him, let him wear it. 
If any thing stay, let work stay. 
If better were within, better would come out. 
If death be terrible, the fault is not in death, but thee. 
If ever I catch his cart overthrowing, I will give it one 

shove. 
If every bird take back its own feathers, you will be naked. 
If every fool were to wear a bauble, they would grow dear. 
If fools went not to market, bad wares would not be sold. 
If he had spewed so often as he has lied, he would have 

brought up his guts long ago. 
If her husband like it, I like it also. 
If honesty cannot, knavery should not. 
If Jack's in love, he is no judge of Jill's beauty. 
If I am a fool, put you your finger in my mouth. 
If I had a dog so good for nothing as thou art, I would 

hang him. 
If I had had no plough, you had had no corn. 
If I had given four-pence for that advice, I had bought it 

a groat too dear. 
If I had not lifted up the stone, you had not found the 

jewel. 
If it should rain porridge he would want a dish. 
If it were a bear it would bite you. 
If it were not for hopes, the heart would break. 
If it were not for the belly, the back might wear gold. 
If madness were pain, you would hear outcries in every 

house. 
If marriages are made in heaven, you had few friends 

there. 
If men had not slept, the tares had not been sown. 



99 

If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. 

If my shirt knew my design, I would burn it. 

If nobody take notice of our faults, we easily forget them 

ourselves. 
If one, two or three tell you, you are an ass, put on a 

tail. 
If our bodies were to cost no more than our souls, we 

might board cheap. 
If pains be a pleasure to you, profit will follow. 
If strokes are good to give, they are good to receive. 
If the ball does not stick to the wall, yet it will leave some 

mark. 
If the bed could tell all it knows, it would put many to 

the blush. 
If the channel's too small, the water must break out. 
If the council be good, no matter who gave it. 
If the devil catch a man idle, he will set him at work. 
If the frog and mouse quarrel, the kite will see them a~ 

greed. 
If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet 

must go to the mountain. 
If the niggard should once taste the sweetness of giving, 

he would give all away. 
If the old dog barks, he gives counsel. 
If the parson be from home, be content with the curate. 
If the pills were pleasant they would not want gilding. 
If the sky fall the pots will be broken. 
If the sky fall we shall catch larks. 
If the walls were adamant, yet gold will take the town. 
If there were no knaves and fools, all the world would be 

alike. 
If thou cannot see the bottom wade not. 
If thou dealest with a fox think of his tricks* 

I 2 



100 

If thou doest no more tlian barely wish me well, thou art 

no brother of mine. 
If thou sailest with a bad wind, thou had'st need to un- 
derstand tacking about well. 
If thou wouldest have a good crop, sow with thy hand, 

but pour not out of the sack. 
If thou wouldest keep money save money. 
If thou wouldest reap money sow money. 
If thy cast be bad, mend it with good play. 
If thy hand be in a lion's mouth, get it out as fast as you 

can. 
If to-day will not, to-morrow may. 
If it will not be spun, bring it not to the distaff. 
If virtue keep court within, honour will attend without. 
If we are bound to forgive an enemy, we are not bound 

to trust him. 
If we be enemies to ourselves whither shall we fly? 
If we did not flatter ourselves, nobody else could. 
If wishes were thrushes, beggars might eat birds. 
If you are negligent, others will be so-to 3^ou. 
If you are too fortunate, you will not know yourself. 
If you are too unfortunate nobody will know you. 
If you be a fool, and I be a fool, there will be no meddling 

with us. 
If you be a jester, keep your wit till you have use for it. 
If you be angry, you may turn the buckle of your girdle 

behind you. 
If you be false to both beasts and birds, you must with the 

bat, fly only by night. 
If you be not content, put your hand in your pocket and 

please yourself. 
If you be not so swift as he, go to rights. 
If you beat spice it will smell the sweeter. 



101 

If you brew well you may drink well. 
If you buy the cow, take the tail into the bargain. 
If you can abide a curst wife, you need not fear any com- 
pany. 
If you can be well without health, you maybe happy with* 

out virtue. 
If you command wisely, you will be obeyed cheerfully. 
If you cut down the woods, you will catch the wolf. 
If you desire to see by my light, you must minister oil to 

my lamp. 
If you despise king Log, you shall fear king Crane. 
If you do not open the door to the devil, he goes away. 
If you eat a pudding at home, j^our dog shall have the 

skin. 
If you go into a labyrinth, take a clue with you. 
If you grease a cause well, it will stretch. 
If you had as little money as manners, you would be the 

poorest of all your kin. 
If you had had fewer friends and more enemies, you had 

been a better man. 
If you hate a man eat his bread ; and if you love him do 

the same. 
If you have done no ill the six days, you may play the 

seventh. 
If you have many irons in the fire, some will burn. 
If you have no enemies, it is a sign fortune has forgot you. 
If you have one true friend, you have more than your 

share comes to. 
If you increase the water, you must increase the malt. 
If you in every thing fear, you shall not do well, you 

will come to do ill in all things. 
If you let a fool play with you at home, he will do 

with you in the market. 

I 3 



102 

If you lie upon roses when young, you will lie upon thorns 
when old. 

If you light the fire at both ends, the middle will shift foi 
itself. 

If you love me pray make it appear. 

If you love not the noise of the bells, why do you pull the 
ropes ? 

If you love yourself too much, nobody else will love you 
at all. 

If you make Bacchus your god, Apollo will not keep you 
company. 

If you make money your god, it will plague you like a 
devil. 

If you make not much of three-pence, you will never be 
worth a groat, 

If you make your wife an ass, she will make you an ox. 

If you make your wife a goldfinch, shemay prove in time 
a wagtail. 

If you mock the lame, you will go so yourself in time. 

If you must needs rake in a jakes, you may take the per- 
fume of it for your pains. 

If you oblige those that can never pay you, you make pro- 
vidence your debtor. 

If you pay for every lie, you will soon be a bankrupt. 

If you pay not a servant his wages, he will pay himself. 

If you play with boys, you must take boy's play. 

If you pity rogues, you are no great friend to honest men. 

If you put nothing into your purse, you can take nothing 

out. 
■ If you run after two hares, you will catch neither. 

If you save a rogue from the gallows, he will rob you that 
same night. 

If you scold me, I will not flatter you. 



103 

If you seek trouble, it is a pity but you should find it, 

If you sell a cow, you sell her milk too. 

If you sit down a mere philosopher, you will rise almost 

an atheist. 
If you sleep till noon, you have no right to complain that 

the days are short. 
If you slander a dead man, you stab him in the grave. 
If you steal for others, you shall be hanged yourself. 
If you squeeze a cork, you will get but little juice. 
If you swallow vice it will rise badly in your stomach. 
If you tell every step you will make a long journey of it. 
If you want a pretence to whip a dog, it is enough to say 

he eat up the frying-pan. 
If you leap into a well, providence is not bound to fetch 

you out. 
If you will obtain you must attempt. 
If you win at that you will lose at nothing. 
If you would compare two men, you must know them both. 
If }'ou would have a hen lay, you must bear with her 

cackling. 
If you would have honest men, you must go out of the 

land for them. 
If you would know the value of a ducat, try to borrow 

one. 
If you wrestle with a collier you will get a blotch. 
If your desires be endless, your cares and fears will be s© 

too-. 
If your head be glass, engage not at throwing stones. 
If your joys cannot be long, so neither can your sorrows. 
If your luck goes on at this rate, you may very well hope 

to be hanged. 
If your shoe pinch you give it your man. 
In a calm every one can steer. 



104 

In a fiddler's house all are dancers. 

In a night's time springs up a mushroom. 

In a thousand pound's worth of law there is not a shilling's 

worth of pleasure. 
In all games it is good to leave off a winner. 
In an enemy, spots are soon seen. 
In an ermine, spots are soon discovered. 
In conversation dwell not too long on a weak side. 
In courtesy, rather pay a penny too much than too little. 
In doubtful matters, courage may do much, in desperate, 

patience. 
In fair weather prepare for foul. 
In love's wars, he who fleeth is conqueror. 
In sleep what difference is there between Solomon and a 

fool? 
In taking revenge a man is but even with his enemy, but 

in passing it over he is superior. 
In the coldest flint there is hot fire. 
In the company of strangers silence is safe. 
In the deepest water is the best fishing. 
In the fair tale is foul falsity. 

In the grave, dust and bones justle not for the wall. 
In the greatest ill the good man hath hope Jeft. 
In the short life of man, no time can be afforded to be 

lost. 
In the time of mirth take heed. 
In things that must be it is good to be resolute. 
In time comes he, whom God sends. 
Into the mouth of a bad dog falls many a good bone. 
It amounts to no more than the tail of a roasted horse. 
It becomes her as a pack-saddle would a sow. 
It costeth us more to revenge injuries than to bear them. 
It happens in an hour that comes not in an age. 



105 

It has been a great misfortune to many a one that he lived 
too long. 

It is a bad action that success cannot justify. 

It is a bad bargain where both are losers. 

It is a bad cause indeed that none dares speak in. 

It is a bad cloth that will take no colour. 

It is a bad house where the hen crows louder than the 
cock. 

It is a bad sack that will bear no clouting. 

It is a bad soil where no flowers will grow. 
, It is a bad stake that will not stand in the hedge one year. 

It is a base thing to tear a dead lion's beard off. 

It is a base thing to tread upon a man that is down. 

It is a blind goose that knows not a fox from a fern-bush. 

It is a cunning part to play the fool well. 

It is a fair degree of plenty to have what is necessary. 

It is a foolish bird that stayeth the laying salt upon her 
tail. 

It is a fortunate head that was never broke. 

It is a good blade that bends well. 

It is a good dog that can catch any thing. 

It is a good friend that is always giving, though it be ne- 
ver so little. 

It is a good hunting-bout that fills the belly. 

It is a good knife, it was made at Dull-edge. 

It is a great act of life to sell air well. 

It is a great journey to Life's-end. 

It is a great point of wisdom to find out one's own folly. 

It is a hard-fought field where none escape. 

It is a hard thing to have a great estate, and not fall in 
love with it. 

It is a long lane that never turns. 

It is a mad hare that will be caught with a tabor. 



106 

It is a madness for a sheep to send a challenge to a wolf. 

It is a madness for a sheep to treat of peace with a wolf. 

It is a manly act to forsake an error. 

It is a mean ambition to be the squire of the company. 

It is a miserable thing for a wise man to be under the go- 
vernment of a fool. 

It is a most base thing to betray a man because he trusted 
you. 

It is a rank courtesy, when a man is forced to give thanks 
for what is his own. 

It is a reproach to be the first gentleman of his race, but 
it is a greater to be the last. 

It is a sad burden for a woman to carry a dead man's 
child. 

It is a sad choice, frying or fire. 

It is a shame to steal, but a worse to carry home. 

It is a sign of a good man if he grows better for commen- 
dation. 

It is a sign of a worthy spirit whom honour amends. 

It is a silly bargain where nobody gets. 

It is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bait. 

It is a silly game where nobody wins. 

It is a silly goose that comes to a fox's sermon. 

It is a silly horse that can neither whinney nor wag his tail. 

It is a sin against hospitality to open your doors, and shut 
up your countenance. 

It is a sin to belie even the devil himself. 

It is a sorry flock where the ewe bears the bell. 

It is a sorry goose that will not baste itself. 

It is a sort of a favour to be denied at first. 

It is a strange salt fish that no water can make fresh. 

It is a strange wood that has never a dead bough in it. 

It is a wicked thing to make a dearth one's garner. 



107 

It is 'a worthier thing to deserve honour than- to' possess it. 

It is an easy thing to find a stick to beat a dog. 

It is an equal failing to trust every body and to trust no 

body. 
It is a hard winter when dogs eat dogs. 
It is an ill air where nothing is to be gained. 
It is an ill army where the devil carries the colours. 
It is an ill bird that bewrays its own nest. 
It is an ill-bred dog that will beat a bitch. 
It is an ill dog that deserves not a crust. 
It is an ill dog that is not worth the whistling for. 
It is an ill guest that never drinks to his hostess. 
It is an ill procession where the devil holds the candle. 
It is an ill sign to see a fox lick a lamb. 
It is an ill thing to be deceived, but worse to deceive. 
It is as great a mischief to spare all, as it is cruelty to 

spare none. 
It is as hard a thing as to sail over the sea in an egg-shell. 
It is as hard a thing to please a knave as a knight. 
It is as long a coming as Cotswold barley. 
It is as much intemperance to [weep too much as to laugh 

too much. 
It is as natural a thing for means to cure, as it is for fire 

to burn. 
It is as natural to die as to be born. 
It is at courts as it is in ponds, some fish, some frogs. 
It is almost as necessary to know other men as ourselves. 
It is always term time in the court of conscience. 
It is better to be beloved than honoured. 
It is better to have a hen to-morrow than an egg to-day. 
It is better to knot than to blossom. 
It is better to pay and have but little left, than to have 

much and be always in debt- 



108 

It is better to reprove privately than to be angry secretly. 
It is better to spin all night with Penelope, than sing with 

Helen all da}'. 
It is better to take half in hand and the rest presently. 
It is cheap enough to say, God help you. 
It is easy for a man in health to preach patience to the 

sick. 
It is easy to keep a castle that was never assaulted. 
It is easy to rob an orchard when none keep it. 
It is easier to bear with what is amiss, than go about to 

reform it. 
It is easier to descend than ascend. 
It is easier to fill a glutton's belly than his eye. 
It is easier to prevent ill habits than to break them. 
It is easier to pull down than build up. 
It is easier to run from virtue to vice, than from vice to 

virtue. 
It is easier to strike than defend well. 
It is even as broad as it is long. 
It is for want of thinking that most men are undone. 
It is good beef that costs nothing. 
It is good fish, if it were but caught. 
It is good fishing in troubled waters. 
It is good pride to desire to be the best of men. 
It is good sheltering under an old hedge. 
It is good to be good in time, you know not how long it 

will last. 
It is good to have a hatch before one's door. 
It is good to have two strings to one's bow. 
It is good to be a-kin to an estate. 
It is good to sleep in a whole skin. 
It is good to strike the serpent's head with your enemy's 

hand. 



109 

It is goodness, not greatness, that will ; do thee good. 

It is Hard, even to the most miserable, to die. 

It is hard to be high and humble. 

It is hard to break an old hog of a custom. 

It is hard to make a good web of a bottle of hay. 

It is hard to pay and pray too. 

It is hard to shave an egg. 

It is hard to suffer wrong and pay for it too. 

It is hard to turn tack upon a narrow bridge. 

It is hard to wive and thrive both in a year. 

It is harder to marry a daugnter well, than to bring her up 

well. 
It is hope alone that makes us willing to live. 
It is hum.n to err, but diabolical to persevere. 
It is ill angling after the net. 
It is ill killing a crow with an empty sling. 
It is ill mistaking in matters of importance. 
It is ill playing with gunpowder. 
It is ill to drive black hogs in the dark. 
It is ill to set spurs to a flying horse. 
It is ill to take an unlawful oath, but worse to keep it. 
It is in vain to cast your net where there is no fish. 
It is in vain to learn wisdom and yet to live foolishly. 
It is in vain to mislike the current fashion. 
It is in vain to use words when deeds are expected. 
It is like nuts to an ape. 
It is lost labour to play a jig to an old cat. 
It is lost labour to sow where there is no soil. 
It is madness to put on gloves when you are stark naked. 
It is Midsummer moon with you. 
It is money that makes the mare to go. 
It is more commendable to deny upon occasion than to 

grant upon none. 

K 



no 

It is more difficult to praise rightly than to blame. 
It is more painful to do nothing than to do something. 
It is more wisdom sometimes to dissemble wrongs, than 

to revenge them. 
It is much like a blacksmith with a white silk apron.. 
It is much safer to reconcile an enemy to thee than to con- 
quer him. 
It is my own fault if I am deceived by the same man 

twice. 
It is natural to a greyhound to have a long tail. 
It is no advantage for a man in a fever to change his bed. 
It is no discredit to be a teacher of that which is credible 

to be learned. 
It is no easy matter to bear prosperity decently. 
It is no good hen that cackles in your house,, and lays in 

another's. 
It is no injury that is not meant an injury. 
It is no more sin to see a woman weep, than to see a goose 

go barefoot. 
It is no more to him than a crab in a cow's mouth. 
It is no shame to yield to him that we must not oppose. 
It is not a chargeable thing to salute civilly. 
It is not a sin to sell dear, but it is to make ill measure. 
It is not a sign of humility to declaim against pride. 
It is not as thy mother sayeth, but as thy neighbours say. 
It is not every one that can pickle well. 
It is not good to come near the plague, though to cure it. 
It is not humility, but sordidness, to be regardless of true 

honour. 
It is not lost if it comes at last. 

It is not the beast, but the mind, that is the sacrifice. 
It is not the cowl that makes the friar. 
It is not the fine coat that makes the fine gentleman. 



Ill 

It is not to be called a bad day that has a good night. 

It is not want, but rather abundance, that makes avarice. 

It is nothing to begin, unless you proceed, and end well. 

It it often easier to make new, than to cobble up the old. 

It is one thing to speak much, and another to speak per- 
tinently. 

It is a pity those that taught you to talk, did not also teach 
you to hold your tongue. 

It is poor play that is not worth the candle. 

It is possible for a sheep to kill a butcher. 

It is possible to sin against charity, when we do not a* 
gainst truth 

It is safe taking a slice off a cut loaf. 

It is safer to commend the dead than the living. 

It is safer to hear and take counsel than to give it. 

It is sin not to be angry with sin. 

It is some relief to the unfortunate to see there are others 
more miserable. 

It is sooner said than done. 

It is time enough to cry Oh ! when you are hurt. 

It is time to marry when the woman courts the man. 

It is time to set in when the oven comes to the bread. 

It is the bridle and spur that makes a good horse. 

It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to deceive 
himself. 

It is the finest flower in his garden. 

It is the justice's clerk that makes the justice. 

It is the marriage of a cat and a dog together. 

It is the ordinary way of the world to keep Folly at the 
helm, and Wisdom under the hatches. 

It is the property of fools to be always judging. 

It is thou must honour the place, not the place thee. 

It is very pretty to see a poor man give to the rich. 

K 2 



in 

It is very seldom that a great talker hath either discretion 

or good manners. 
It is wit to pick a lock and steal a horse, but it is wisdom 

to let it alone. 
It is wise not to seek a secret, and honest not to reveal it. 
It is wiser to run away when there is no remedy, than to 

stay and die in the field foolishly. 
It is working that makes a workman. 
It is worse to do than to revenge an injury. 
It looks as well as a diamond necklace about a sow's neck. 
It matters not what religion an ill man is of. 
It may be necessary sometimes to hold a candle to the de* 

vil. 
It must be a wily mouse that can breed in a cat's ear. 
It ought to be a good tale that is twice told. 
It pitieth me to refuse him that asketh modestly. 
It pricketh betimes that will be a good thorn. 
It rains in summer as well as in winter. 
It signifies nothing to play well if you lose. 
It will be long enough ere you wish your skin full of oilet- 

holes. 
It would have been pity to have, spoiled two houses with 

them. 
It would vex a dog to see a pudding creep. 
Idle brains are the devil's workhouses. 
Idle fellows are the devil's playfellows. 
Idle men are dead all their life long. 
Idle people take the most pains. 
Idleness always envies industry. 

Idleness and chastity cannot set their horses together. 
Idleness and lust are sworn friends. 
Idleness is the greatest prodigality in the world. 
Idleness makes the wit rust. 



113 

Idleness must thank itself if it go barefoot. 

Ignorance is less hateful than conceitedness. 

Ignorance is the mother of impudence. 

Ignorance is the mother of Romish devotion. 

Ill doers are ill thinkers. 

Ill gotten goods seldom prosper. 

Ill got, ill spent. 

Ill kings make many good laws. 

Ill layers up make many thieves. 

Ill luck is good for something. 

Ill manners produce good laws. 

Ill natures never want a tutor. 

Ill news comes apace. 

J 11 sowers make an ill harvest. 

Ill tongues ought to be heard only by persons of discre- 
tion. 

Ill weeds grow apace. 

Ill will never speaks well nor doth well. 

Ill words are bellows to a slackening fire. 

Ill wounds may be cured, but not ill names. 

Impatience does not diminish, but always augments the 
evil. 

Impatience makes every ill double, but content makes it 
none at all. 

Impatience never gets preferment. 

Improve opportunities. 

Impudence and wit are vastly different. 

Impudence commonly makes a fortune. 

Inconsiderable excuses are a sort of self-accusation. 

Incredulity should make men advised, not irresolute. 

Industry is Fortune's right hand, and frugality her left. 

Industry will never do much, unless there be natural parts 
also. 

k3 



114 

Ingratitude is the daughter of pride. 

Ingratitude makes the receiver worse, but the benefactor 

better. 
Injuries do not use to be written on ice. 
Injuries slighted become none at all. 
Injurious men brook no injuries. 
Injury is to be measured by malice. 
Innocence is no protection. 

Innocence itself hath sometimes need of a mask. 
Innocent actions carry their warrant with them. 
Innovations are dangerous. 
Insolence is pride with her mask pulled off. 
Insolence puts an end to friendship. 
Invite not a Jew either to pig or pork- 
Is it an emperor's business to catch flies ? 
Is no coin good silver but your penny? 
Is there no mean, but fast or feast? 
Itch is more intolerable than smart. 



Jack at a pinch. 

Jack in an office is a great man. 

Jack of all trades is of no trade. 

Jack would be a gentleman if he could but speak French. 

Jeerers must be content to taste of their own broth. 

Jests are seldom good the first time, but the second dis- 
tasteful. 

Jests, like sweetmeats, have often sour sauce. 

Joan reels ill and winds' worse ; the devil a stomach she 
has to spin. 

Joan's as good as my lady in the dark. 

Job was not,, so miserable in his sufferings, as happy in his 
patience. 



115 

Joy surfeited turns to sorrow. 

Justice needs not injury to assist it in getting its own. 
Justice will not condemn even the devil himself wrong- 
fully. 

K 

Keep counsel thyself first. 

Keep the common road and thou art safe. 

Keep thy plough jogging, so shalt thou have corn for thy 

horses. 
Keep touch in small things. 
Keep your purse and your mouth close. 
Keep your shop, and your shop will keep. you. 
Keeping from falling is better than helping up. 
Kill a cockatrice in the egg> 
Kill the lion's whelp ; thou wilt strive in vain when he is 

grown. 
Kindnesses that we cannot requite are troublesome. 
Kindness is the noblest weapon to conquer with. 
Kissing goes by favour. 
Kings alone are no more than single men. 
Kings have no power over souls. 
Knavery may serve a turn, but honesty never fails. 
Knavery, without luck, is the worst trade in the world. 
Knaves and fools divide the world. 
Knaves are in such repute, that honest men are accounted 

fools. 
Knaves imagine nothing can be done without knavery. 
Knowledge begins a gentleman, but it is conversation that 

completes him. 
Knowledge directeth practice ; but yet practice increaseth 

knowledge. 
Knowledge in youth is sapience in age. 



116 

Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. 
Knowledge rendereth a crime inexcusable. 
Knowledge, without practice, makes but half an artist. 



Ladies will rather pardon want of sense than want of man- 
ners. 

Lame hares are ill to help. 

Lament not the dead, but the living. 

Late repentance is seldom true. 

Laughter is the hickup of a fool. 

Lavishness is not generosity. 

Law cannot persuade where it cannot punish. 

Law governs man, and reason the law. 

Laws catch flies, but let the hornets go free. 

Lawyers don't love beggars. 

Lay on more wood, the ashes will }^eld money. 

Lay the saddle upon the right horse. 

Lay things by, they may come to use. 

Lay thy hand upon thy halfpenny twice before thou part- 
est with it. 

Laziness calls for whip and spur. 

Lean not on a reed. 

Lean liberty is better than fat slavery. 

Learning in an ill man, is good wine in a musty bottle. 

Learning in the hand of some is a sceptre, in that of oth- 
ers a fool's bauble. 

Learning is worse lodged in him, than Jove was in a 
thatched house. 

Learning makes a good man better, and an ill man worse. 

Learning makes a man fit company for himself. 

Learn to crawl before you can go. 

Learn to say before you sing. 



ur 

Leave boy's play and go to push-pin. 

Leave is light. 

Leave no dirt, you will find no dirt. 

Leave off play as soon as the pleasure is past. 

Leave the spring for the stream, so you shall have mud 

for water. 
Leave us in the dirt and find us in the mire. 
Less of your courtship, I pray, and more of your coin. 
Let choler be only a common soldier, not a commander. 
Let every cuckold wear his own horns. 
Let every one praise the bridge that carries him over. 
Let every pedlar carry his own pack. 
Let every snail like her own shell best. 
Let her that will not dance turn out of the wedding. 
Let him fry in his own grease. 
Let him say what he will, men have spoken well of God 

before now. 
Let him set up a shop upon Goodwin's sands. 
Let him that can play take the hue. 
Let him that earns the bread eat it. 
Let him that is cold blow the fire. 
Let him that owns the cow take her by the tail. 
Let him that receives the profit repair the inn. 
Let me gain by you, and no matter whether you love me 

or not. 
Let not another shuffle and cut the cards thou art to deal 

out. 
Let not the mouse-trap smell of blood. 
Let not thy tongue run away with thy brains. 
Let the best horse leap the hedge first. 
Let the church have leave to stand in the church-yard. 
Let the drunkard alone, and by and bye he will fall of 

himself. 



118 

Let the guts be full, for it is they that can carry the legs. 

Let the hen live though it be with pip, 

Let the people take back their praise again, I will do as 

much as I can without that. 
Let the smith himself wear the fetters he forged. 
Let them laugh that win. 
Let women spin, and not preach* 
Let your trouble tarry till its own day comes. 
Letters blush not. 
Liars and wits are cowards. 

Liberality is not giving largely, but giving wisely. 
Liberality draweth flattery. 
Lickerish tongues, treacherous tails. 
Lidford Jaw ; first hang and draw, then hear the cause. 
Lie thou for me, and I'll swear for thee. 
Life and misery began together. 
Life is half spent before we know what it is. 
Life lieth not in living by liking. 
Life that is too ohort for the happy, is too long for the 

miserable. 
Life without a friend is death with a vengeance. 
Life would be too smooth if it had no rubs in it. 
Light come, light go. 

Light-heeled mothers make leaden-heeled daughters. 
Light injuries are made none by not regarding them. 
Light suppers make clean sheets. 
Lightness of carriage and beauty are old companions. 
Like a barber's chair, fit for every one. 
Like a calf, she has a sweet tooth in her head. 
Like a cat, he'll still fall upon his legs. 
Like a collier's sack, bad without, but worse within. 
Like a dog in a manger, you'll not eat yourself, nor let the 

horse eat. 






119 

Like a loader's horse, that lives among thieves. 

Like a miller, he can set to every wind. 

Like a mill-horse, that goes much, but performs no jour- 
ney. 

Like a hog, he does no good till he dies. 

Like Banbury tinkers, that mend one hole and make three. 

Like fish, that live in salt water and yet are fresh. 

Like Flanders mares, fairest afar off. 

Like lambs, you do nothing but suck and wag your tail. 

Like lips, like lettuce. 

Like master, like man. 

Like priest, like people. 

Like Teague's cocks, that fought one another, though all 
were of the same side. 

Like the gardener's dog, that neither eats cabbage himself 
nor lets any body else. 

Like the smith's dog, that sleeps at the noise of the ham- 
mers, and wakes at the crashing of teeth. 

Like the tailor, that sewed for nothing and found thread 
himself. 

Like those dogs, that meeting with nobody else bite one 
another. 

Like to like, and Nan to Nicholas. 

Like will to like, as the devil said to the collier. 

Like Wood's dog, he will neither go to the church nor stay 
at home. 

Likely lies in the mire, when unlikely gets over. 

Likeness begets love, yet proud men hate one another. 

Lilies are whitest in a blackamoor's hand. 

Lip honour costs little, yet may bring in much. 

Lip labour is but lost labour. 

Listen at the hole and you will hear news of yourself, 

Listeners hear no good of themselves. 



120 

Little and often fills the purse. 

Little birds may pick a dead lion. 

Little boats must keep the shore. 

Little bodies have commonly great souls. 

Little difference between a feast and a bellyful. 

Little dogs start the hare, but great ones catch it. 

Little goods are soon spent. 

Little goods, little care. 

Little knows the fat sow what the lean one means. 

Little said is soon amended. 

Little serpents may bite mortally. 

Little shame, little conscience., and much industry, will 
make a man rich. 

Little sticks kindle a fire, but great ones put it out, 

Little wealth brings little trouble. 

Live, and let live. 

Live not upon the opinion of other men. 

Living upon trust is the way to pay double. 

London bridge was made for wise men to pass over, and 
for fools to pass under. 

Long and lazy. 

Long and slender, like a cat's elbow. 

Long ere you cut down an oak with a penknife. 

Long life hath long misery. 

Long looked for comes at last. 

Look high and fall low. 

Look not a given horse in the mouth. 

Look to him, jailor, there's a frog in the stocks. 

Loquacity is the fistula of the soul, ever running, and ne- 
ver cured. 

Loquacity storms the ear, but modesty takes the heart. 

Lordly vices require lordly estates. 

Lose a leg rather than life. 



121 

Lose not a hog for a halfpenny-worth of tar. 
Love and envy make a man pine. 
Love and madness judge of things much alike. 
Love and pease- porridge will make their way. 
Love and pease will make a man speak at both ends. 
Love and pride stock Bedlam. 

Love comes in at the window and flies out at the door. 
Love does much, but money does more. 
Love is as mad as Ajax, it kills sheep, so it kills me. 
Love is the loadstone of love. 
Love is wont rather to ascend than descend. 
Love lives more in cottages than courts. 
Love me little and love me long. 
Love me, love my dog. 
Love me more, and honour me less. 
Love never desires a partner. 
Love of wit makes no man rich. 
Love requires boldness and scorns bashfulness. 
Love sees no faults. 

Love, the itch, and a cough, cannot be hid. 
Love thy neighbour, but cut not up thy hedge for him. 
Love weeping burns. 
Love will creep where it cannot go. 

Lovers complain of their hearts, but the distemper is in 
their heads. 

M 

Madam, I am, to the utmost of my power, not yours. 
Magistrates are to obey as well as execute laws. 
Maidens should be seen, and not heard. 
Maids make much of one ; good men are scarce. 
Maids say nay, and take it. 



122 

Maids want nothing but husbands, and then they want 
every thing. 

Make a model before thou buildest. 

Make a pearl on your nail. 

Make a silver bridge for your enemy to fly over. 

Make a virtue of necessity. 

Make hay while the sun shines. 

Make me a soothsayer and I'll make thee rich. 

Make no baulks in good ground. 

Make no orts of good hay. 

Make not a gauntlet of a hedging glove. 

Make not another's shoes by your foot. 

Make not even the devil blacker than he is. 

Make not fish of one and flesh of another. 

Make not thy sail too big for the ballast. 

Make not thy tail broader than thy wings. 

Make not your sauce before you have caught the fish. 

Make the best of a bad bargain. 

Make the young one squeak and you'll catch the old one. 

Malice drinketh up the greatest part of its own poison. 

Malice hath a sharp sight and a strong memory. 

Malice is mindful. 

Man begins to die before he is born. 

Man had perished long ago, had it not been for public spi- 
rited persons. 

Man punishes the action, but God the intention. 

Manners and money make a gentleman. 

Manners make a man, quoth Wil) of Wickham. 

Man, woman, and devil, are the three degrees of compari* 
son. 

Many a dog is dead since you were a whelp. 
Many a good cow hath but a bad calf. 



123 

Many a man of fame hath been beholden to fortune for his 
laurel. 

Many an honest man stands in need of help that has not 
the face to beg it. 
) Many can bear adversity, but few contempt. 

Many can pack the cards better than they can play. 

Many come to bring their clothes to church rather than 
themselves. 

Many dogs soon eat up a horse. 

Many dressers put the bride's dress out of order. 

Many drops of water will sink a ship. 

Many get into a dispute well that cannot get out well. 

Many hands make light work. 

Many have come to a port after a storm. 

Many have been ruined by buying good pennyworths. 

Many humble servants have not one true friend. 

Many kiss the child for the nurse's sake. 

Many kiss the hands they wish to see cut off. 

Many make straight things crooked, but few the contrary. 

Many masters, quoth the toad to the harrow, when every 
tine turned her over. 

Many owe their fortunes to their enviers. 

Many rise under their burdens, more like camels than 
palm trees. 

Many strokes fell the oak. 

Many talk like philosophers and live like fools. 

Many that are wits in jest, are fools in earnest. 

Many that go out for wool come home shorn. 

Many there be, that buy nothing with their money but re- 
pentance. 

Many things fall out between the cup and the lip. 

Many things grow in the garden that were never sowed 
there, 

l2 



124 

Many words and many lies look much alike. 

Many words will not fill a bushel. 

Many would be cowards if they had courage enough. 

Many would have been worse if their estates had been bet- 
ter. 

March birds are best. 

March grass never did good. 

Marriage and hanging go by destiny. 

Marriage is honourable, but housekeeping chargeable. 

Marriage leapeth up upon the saddle, and soon after re* 
pentance upon the crupper. 

Marry your daughters betimes lest they marry themselves. 

Marry come up my dirty cousin ! 

Masters are mostly the greatest servants in the house. 

Masters should be sometimes blind and sometimes deaf. 

May it please God not to make our friends so happy as to 
forget us. 

May no good Christian ever see an ugly woman that af- 
fects niceness. 

Mean men admire wealth, great men glory. 

Measure not other's corn by your own bushel. 

Measure thrice and cut once. 

Meat and mattins hinder not a journey. 

Meat is much, but malice is more. 

Mediocrity is mean, and below an exalted spirit. 

Medlers are the devil's body-lice, they fetch blood from 
those that feed them. 

Mere idleness can have no excuse. 

Men apt to promise are apt to forget. 

Men are less eager for what they may have, than what 
they cannot obtain. 

Men are more prone to revenge injuries, than to requite 
kindnesses. 



125 

Men are not to be measured by inches. 

Men blush to be cured by a shameful remedy. 

Men fear death, as children fear going into the dark. 

Men generally look more upon decency than virtue. 

Men get wealth and women keep it. 

Men hate those they have hurt. 

Men like to talk of what they love. 

Men may bear till their backs break. 

Men may blush to hear what they were not ashamed to 

act. 
Men never play the fool more, than by endeavouring to be 

otherwise. 
Men never think their fortune too great, nor their wit too 

little 
Men of business must not break their word twice. 
Men of cruelty are birds of the devil's hatching. 
Men seek less to be instructed than applauded. 
Men take less care of their conscience than their reputa* 

tion. 
Men that are crafty deal mostly in generals. 
Men that have much business must have much pardon# 
Men work but slowly that have poor wages. 
Men's actions are not to be judged of at first sight. 
Merry is the company till the reckoning comes. 
Merry meet, merry part. 
Mettle is dangerous in a blind horse. 
Mice care not to play with kittens. 
Millers need no noise, yet cannot grind without it. 
Mills will not grind if you give them not water. 
Mirth and mischief are two things. 
Mirth and motion prolong life. 
Mischief comes by the pound, and goes away by the 

ounce 

h3 



126 

Misers put their back and their belly into their pocket* 

Misfortunes make us wise. 

Misfortunes tell us what fortune is. 

Misfortunes that cannot be avoided must be sweetened. 

Misfortunes when asleep are not to be awakened. 

Misreckoning is no payment. 

Misunderstanding brings lies to town. 

Mock no pannier-man if your father was a fisher. 

Mock not, quoth Mountford, when his wife called him 

cuckold. 
Moderate riches will carry you, if you have more, you 

must carry them. 
Moderate things are best. 

Moderation in prosperity argues a great mind. 
Modest assurance, good humour, and prudence, make a 

gentleman. 
Modesty is not bashful ness. 
Modesty ruins all that brings it to court. 
Money, as well as need > makes the old wife trot. 
Money cannot buy merit. 
Money in purse will be always in fashion. 
Money is a merry fellow. 

Money is a sword that can cut even the Gordian knot. 
Money is ace of trumps. 
Money is the best bait to fish for man with. 
Money is the god of the world. 
Money is the only monarch. 
Money is the sinew of love as well as of war. 
Money is too inconsiderable to love, ^et too useful to 

throw away. 
Money, like dung, does no good till it is spread. 
Money makes marriage. 
Money makes not so many true friends as real enemies, 



127 

Money will do more than my lord's letter. 

Money will make a baboon or a bear to ride in a coach. 

Money will iuake the pot boil, though the devil p — in the 

fire. 
More belongs to marriage than four bare legs in a bed. 
More cost than worship. 
More credit may be thrown down in a moment, than can 

be built in an age. 
More die by food than famine. 
More flies are taken with a drop of honey than a tun of 

vinegar. 
More goes to the making of a fine gentleman than fine 

clothes. 
More knave than fool. 
More like the devil than to St. Lawrence. 
More malice than matter. 
More men are terrified than punished. 
More molehills than men. 
More than enough is too much. 
More than we use is more than we want, and a burden to 

the bearer. 
More things affright than hurt us. 

More to do with one jackanapes than with all the bears. 
More words than one to a bargain. 
Mortal man must not keep up immortal anger. 
Most men cry, Long live the conqueror. 
Most men employ their first years so as to make their last 

miserable 
Most men have a thorn at their door. 
Most men worship the rising sun. 
Most of our evils come from our vices. 
Most things have two handles, and a wise man takes hold 
of the best. 



128 

Mostly, where the body is finely adorned, the soul is un* 
garnished. 

Mother's darlings make but milk-sop heroes. 

Mouth civility is no great pains, but may turn to good ac- 
count. 

Much better never to catch a rogue, than let him go a- 
gain. 

Much bran and little flour. 

Much coin much care 

Much compliance much craft. 

Much corn lies in the chaff unseen. 

Much in earth but little in heaven. 

Much law but little justice. 

Much meat, much malady. 

Much praying but no piety. 

Much religion but no goodness. 

Much wit much froth 

Much would have more, but often meets with less; 

Mud choaks no eels. 

Muddy springs will have muddy streams. 

Muddy water is a bad looking-glass. 

Muddy waters are the fishmonger's gain. 

Muffled cats are not good mousers. 

Music helps not the tooth-ach. 

Mustard is good sauce, but mirth is better. • 

Must I tell you a tale and find you ears too ? 

Mutability is the badge of infirmity. 

My cow gives a good mess of milk, and then kicks it 
down. 

My dame fed her hens with mere thanks, and they laid 
no eggs. 

My house is my castle. 

My mind to me a Kingdom is* 



129 

My money comes in at the door and flies out at the win- 
dow. 
My name is Twyford ; I know nothing of the matter. 
My teeth are nearer to me than my kindred is, 

N 

Nature gives parts and merit, but it is fortune that brings 
them forth. 

Nature is beyond all teaching. 

Nature never made us for play and pleasure. 

Nature takes as much pains in the womb for the forming 
of a beggar as an emperor 

Nature teaches us to love our friends, but religion our en- 
emies. 

Nature will sometimes lie buried a great while, and yet 
revive upon occasion of a temptation. 

Natural folly is bad enough, but learned folly is intolera- 
ble. 

Naught is never in danger. 

Nay, stay, quoth Stringer, when his neck was in the hal« 
ter. 

Near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin. 

Necessity and opportunity may make a coward valiant*. 

Necessity dispensed) with decorum. 

Necessity has no law. 

Necessity sharpens industry. 

Neck or nothing, for the king loves no cripples. 

Need makes the naked queen spin. 

Neglect will sooner kill an injury than revenge. 

Neither a log nor a stork, good Jupiter. 

Neither coat nor cloak will hold out against rain upoa 
rain. 

Neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring. 



130 

Neither griefs nor joys were ordered for secresy. 

Neither in Kent nor Christendom. 

Neither marry nor buy an old beast; the reason is plain. 

Never a barrel the better herring. 

Never choose linen or women by candle-light. 

Never rub your eye but with your elbow. 

Never too old to learn what is good. 

Never was a scornful person well received. 

Never was cat or dog drowned, that could but see the 
shore. 

New brooms sweep clean. 

New dishes beget new appetites. 

New grief awakens the old. 

New lords, new laws. 

New things are most looked at. 

Next to a good conscience, a clear reputation is the clear- 
est thing in the world. 

Next to no wife a good wife is best. 

Nice eaters seldom meet with a good dinner. 

Night is the mother of Thought. 

Nightingales can sign their own song best. 

Nip the briar in the bud. 

No Autumn fruit without Spring blossoms. 

Nobody calls himself rogue. 

Nobody can live longer in peace than his neighbour plea- 
ses. 

Nobody can stand in awe of himself too much. 

Nobody can think much to bear that, which is the com- 
mon fate of all men. 

Nobody hath too much prudence or virtue. 

Nobody is fond of fading flowers. 

Nobody is willing to acknowledge he is in the fault. 

Nobody thinks himself an impertinent or fool. 



131 

No carrion will poison a crow. 

No choice among stinking fish. 

No condition so low but may have hopes, none so high 

but may have fears. 
No cross no crown. 
No cut to unkindness. 

No day passeth without something we wish not. 
No dearth but begins with a horse-manger. 
No dish pleases all palates alike. 
No doors are shut against honest grey-hairs. 
No estate can make him rich that has a poor heart' 
Nd feast like a miser's feast. 
No fence against a flail. 
No fence against gold. 
No fence against ill fortune. 
No fine clothes can hide the fool or clown. 
No flying from fate. 
No flying without wings. 
No fool like the old fool. 
No friend like to a bosom friend, as the man said when he 

pulled out a louse. 
No friend to a bosom friend; no enemy to a bosom enemy. 

No friendship lives long that owes its rise to the pot. 

No gale can equally serve all passengers. 

No gaping against an oven. 

No garden without its weeds. 

No glew will hold when the joint is bad. 

No good building without a good foundation. 

No good workman without good tools. 

No happiness without holiness. 

No heralds in the grave. 

No honest man ever repented of his honesty. 

No honest man gets an estate of a sudden. 



132 

No honest man has the leer of a rogue. 

No jesting with edged tools. 

No ill-natured people think well of God. 

No larder but hath its mice. 

No longer blow no longer burn. 

No longer foster no longer friend. 

No longer pipe no longer dance. 

No man can always stand his ground. 

No man can stand always upon his guard. 

No man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his 
friend till he is unhappy. 

No man can guess in cold blood what he may do in a pas- 
sion. 

No man can like all or be liked of all. 

No man crieth stinking fish. 

No man ever surfeited on too much honesty. 

No man has a monopoly of craft to himself. 

No man is born wise or learned. 

No man is his craft's master the first day. 

No man is the worse for knowing the worst of himself. 

No man is willing to own him, who is out of the good o- 
pinion of the world. 

No man knows himself till he hath tasted of both fortunes. 

No man lives so poor as he was born. 

No man should be afraid to die, who hath understood 
what it is to live. 

No man should live in the world that has nothing to do 
in it. 

No man was ever scared into heaven. 

No man was made for sports and recreations. 

No man's religion ever survives his morals. 

No matter what religion a knave or a fool is of. 

No matter what the vessel is so the wine in it be good. 



133 

No merchant gets always. 

No mill no meal. 

No pay no Swiss. 

No pear without a stalk. 

No penny no pardon. 

No penny no paternoster. 

No priest no mass. 

No priority among the dead. 

No receiver no thief. 

No religion but can boast of its martyrs. 

No relying on wine, women and fortune. 

No resolutions of repentance hereafter can be sincere, 

No rogue like to the godly rogue. 

No rose without a prickle. 

No ruins are so irreparable as those of reputation. 

No safe wading in an unknown water. 

No smoke without some fire. 

No silver no service. 

No sort of head-cloths will fit a mad head. 

No sunshine but hath some shadow. 

No sweet without some sweat. 

No sweetness in a cabbage twice boiled, or in a tale twice 
told. 

No time was ever suitable in all points. 

No tyrant can take from you your knowledge and wisdom. 

No vice but hath its patron. 

No vice goes alone. 

No villain like to the conscientious villain. 

No viper so little but hath its venom. 

No wonder if he break his shins that walks in the dark. 

Noble plants suit not with a stubborn soil. 

None but a wise man can employ liesure well. 

M 



134 

None but cats and dogs are allowed to quarrel in my 
house. 

None but great men can do mischief. 

None can be good too soon. 

None can be wise and safe but he that is honest. 

None can pray well but he that lives well. 

None can think so well of others, as most do of them- 
selves. 

None ever gives the lie to him that praiseth him. 

None goes to the gallows for giving ill counsel. 

None hastens to that market where nothing is to be bought 
but blows. 

None is a fool always, every one sometimes. 

None is so old but he hopes for a year longer. 

None is so wise but the fool sometimes overtakes him. 

None knows the weight of another's burden. 

None knows what will happen to him before sunset. 

None so deaf as he who will not hear. 

None sows such a grain as will not sell. 

Nothing but what is ominous to the superstitious, 

Nothing costs so much as what is given us. 

Nothing dries sooner than a woman's tears. 

Nothing is easy to the negligent. 

Nothing is easy to the unwilling. 

Nothing is easier than to deceive one's self. 

Nothing is good but in its season. 

Nothing is good or bad but by comparison. 

Nothing is fine but what is fit. 

Nothing is ill that ends well. 

Nothing is more easily blotted out than a good turn. 

Nothing is more ordinary than for vice to correct sin. 

Nothing is ours but time. 

Nothing is well said or done in a passion. 



135 

Nothing more thankful than pride when complied with. 

Nothing sharpens sight like envy. 

Nothing stake nothing draw. 

Nothing that is violent is permanent. 

Nothing to be got without pains but poverty. 

Nothing venture nothing have. 

Nothing's impossible to a willing mind. 

Nothing's more playful than a young cat, nor more grave 
than the old one. 

Not possession but use is the only riches. 

Not to go forward in the way of virtue is to go backwards. 

Not to have hope is the poorest of all things. 

Not to hear conscience is the way to silence it. 

Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse 
open. 

Not to repent of a fault is to justify it. 

Not what is she but what has she. 

Not worthy to carry guts after a bear. 

Now-a-days truth is the greatest news. 

Now I have got an ewe and a lamb, every one cries wel- 
come Peter. 

Now it rains into the sea. 

O 

Oaks may fall when reeds stand the storm. 

Obedience is much more seen in little things than in 

great, 
Obscene words must have a deaf ear. 
Of all birds give me mutton. 

Of all crafts to an honest man downright is the only craft. 
Of all tame beasts I hate a slut. 
Of idleness never comes any good. 
Of soup and love the first is best. 

M 2 



136 

Offences generally outweigh merits with great men* 

Offenders never pardon. 

Offer not the pear to him that gave the apple. 

Oftentimes to please fools wise men err. 

Old age is not so fiery as youth, but when once provoked 
cannot be appeased. 

Old age though despised, is coveted by all men. 

Old bees yield no honey. 

Old birds are not caught with chaff. 

Old buildings may fall in a moment. 

Old cats may lap as well as young children. 

Old custom without truth is but an old error. 

Old dogs bark not for nothing. 

Old foxes want no tutors. 

Old hosts give entertainment to sharks. 

Old maids lead apes in hell. 

Old men and travellers may lie with authority. 

Old men are soon angry. 

Old men are twice children. 

Old men feel young men's knocks. 

Old men go to death, but death comes to young men. 

Old men have one foot in the grave, and many young men 

too. 
Old men remember such things as they delighted in when 

young. 
Old men that dandle madams hug death. 
Old men think themselves cunning. 
Old porridge is sooner warmed than new made. 
Old reckonings make new quarrels. 
Old sacks want much patching. 
Old sores are hardly cured. 
Old thanks pay not for a new debt. 
Old vessels must leak. 



137 

Old women's gold is not ugly. 

Once a whore and ever a whore. 

Once in ten years one ma 1 hath need of another. 

Once in use and ever after a custom. 

Once taken is better than twice given. 

One adversary may do us more harm than a great many 

friends can do us good. 
One barking dog sets all the street a barking 
One barber shaves not so close but another finds work. 
One beateth the bush, and another catch cth the bird. 
One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 
One brother may help another. 
One cannot live by selling goods for words. 
One cannot take true aim at things too high. 
One cloud is enough to eclipse all the sun. 
One crow will not peck out another crow's eyes. 
One danger is seMom overcome without another. 
One day of pleasure is worth two of sorrow. 
One devil is like another. 
One devil often drubs another. 

One eye of the master's sees more than ten of the man's. 
One eye-witness is better than ten hear-says. 
One favour qualifies for another. 
One gift well given recovereth many losses. 
One good head is better than an hundred strong hands. 
One good turn deserves another. 
One grain of pepper is worth a cart load of hail. 
One had better forgive a debt, where he cannot recover so 

much as his charges. 
One hair of a woman draws more than a team of oxen. 
One half of the world wonders how the other lives. 
One hand may wash the other, but both the face. 
One hour's sleep before midnight is worth two after. 

M 3 



138 

One hour to-day is worth to two-morrow. 

One jeer seldom goeth forth but it bringeth back its equal. 

One is of Martin's religion, another is of Luther's. 

One kindness is the price of another. 

One leg of a lark is worth the whole body of a kite. 

One lie calls for many. 

One mad action is not enough to prove a man mad. 

One man may better steal a horse than another look over 
the hedge. 

One man may as much miss the mark by aiming too high 
as too low. 

One may as soon break his neck as his fast at your house. 

One may be confuted and yet not convinced. 

One may come soon enough to an ill market. 

One may discern an ass shrouded in a lion's skin without 
spectacles. 

One may hold one's tongue in an ill time. 

One may know by his nose what porridge he loves. 

One may know your meaning by your gaping. 

One may live and learn. 

One may point at a star, but not pull at it. 

One may say too much even on the best subject. 

One may see day at a little hole. 

One may surfeit with too much, as well as starve with too 
little. 

One may tell lies without the danger of the law. 

One may think that dares not speak. 

One may understand like an angel and yet be a devil. 

One nail drives out another. 

One never loses by doing good turns. 

One of his hands is unwilling to wash the other for no- 
thing. 

One outward civility is current pay for another. 



One pair of heels is worth two pair of hands. 

One pirate gets nothing of another but his cask. 

One saddle in enough for one horse. 

One scabby sheep is enough to infect a whole flock* 

One shoulder of mutton drives down another. 

One shrewd turn asks another. 

One swallow makes no summer. 

One suit of law breeds twenty. 

One tale is good till another is told. 

One that is perfectly idle is perfectly weary too, and 
knows not what he would do or have. 

One thing thinketh the horse, and another he that saddles 
him. 

One tongue is enough for two women. 

One trick needs a great many more to make it good. 

One were as well be out of the world as be beloved by nc 
body in it. 

One wicked weed spoils a whole mess of porridge. 

One wood is enough to feed many elephants. 

One wrong step may give you a great fall. 

One year of joy, another of comfort, the rest of content, 
make the married life happy. 

Only that which is honestly got is gain. 

Open not your door when the devil knocks. 

Openness has the mischief though not the malice of treach- 
ery. 

Opportunity makes the thief. 

Oral sanctity is mental impiety. 

Other men's failings accuse us of frailty. 

Other men's ills are slightly regarded. 

Overdoing is nothing doing to the purpose. 

Over shoes, over boots. 

Over the greatest beauty hangs the greatest ruin, 



140 

Our ancestors grew not great bv hawking and hunting. 

Our birth made us mortal, our death will make us humor* 
tal. 

Our common friends are but spies of our actions. 

Our common conversation is but a babble about nothing. 

Our desires may undo us. 

Our fellow's share is always the best. 

Our flatterers are our most dangerous enemies, and yet 
often lie in our bosoms. 

Our own opinion is never wrong. 

Our pity is often misapplied, for none can tell what an- 
other feels. 

Our pleasures are mostly imagined, but our griefs real. 

Our spit is not yet at the fire, and you are got a basting 
already. 

Our time is very short, but the time of doing good is much 
shorter. 

Our virtues would be proud if our vices whipped them 
not. 

Our whole life is but a greater and longer childhood. 

Out nettle, in dock. 

Out of debt out of danger. 

Out of God's blessing into the warm sun. 

Out of sight out of mind. 

Out of the frying-pan into the fire. 



Pain is forgotten when gain comes. 
Pain is more affecting than pleasure. 
Pain past is pleasure. 
Pains are the wages of ill pleasures. 
Pale anger is the devil's visage. 



141 

Parasites pitch up toils to catch deer in a platter. 

Pardoning the bad is injuring the good. 

Parents are patterns. 

Parnassus has no gold mines in it. 

Past labour's pleasant. 

Passion and deliberation never set their horses together. 

Passion joined with power., produceth thunder and ruin. 

Passion maketh a man a beast, but wine maketh him worse. 

Passionate men like fleet hounds are apt to over-run the 

scent. 
Passionate people lay up no malice. 
Pater-noster built churches, and our father pulled them 

down. 
Patience and application will carry us through. 
Patience and pusillanimity are two things. 
Patience grows not in every garden. 
Patience is a a plaister for all sores. 

Patience is good for abundance of things besides the gout. 
Patience is the best buckler against affronts 
Patience, money and time, brings all things to pass. 
Patience provoked turns to fury. 
Patience upon force is a medicine for a mad dog. 
Paul's will not always stand. 
Penitence and innocence are near relations. 
Penny come quick soon makes twopence. 
Penny in pocket is a merry companion. 
Penny in purse will make me drink, when all the friends I 

have will not. 
Penny wise and pound foolish. 
Perfect love never settled in a light head. 
Perhaps you'd have cherries at Christmas. 
Perhaps you may have such broth sent you as you will 

not like. 



142 

Peter is so godly that God don't make him thrive. 

Pheasants are fools if they invite the hawk to dinner. 

Pick-pockets are sure traders, for they take ready money. 

Pidgeons are taken when crows fly at pleasure. 

Pigs love that lie together. 

Pigs play on the organ at Hogs-Norton. 

Pity cureth envy. 

Pity it is that no vanity should be put into the composi- 
tion of women-kind. 

Plain dealing is a jewel, but they that wear it are out of 
fashion. 

Plain dealing is dead, and died without issue. 

Plant the crab tree where you will it will never bear pippins. 

Plants too often removed will not thrive. 

Play at small jrames rather than stand out. 

Play may be good, but folly can never be of any use. 

Play, women, and wine undo men laughing. 

Pleasant discourses make short day and night. 

Pleasant hours fly fast. 

Pleasure tasteth well after service. 

Pleasure that comes too thick grows fulsome. 

Pluck not a courtesy in the bud before it is ripe. 

Point not at other's spots with a foul finger. 

Policy may be virtuous as well as vicious. 

Poor folks are glad of porridge. 

Poor folks must say thank ye for a little. 

Poor men may think well, but rich men may both think 
well and do well. 

Poor men seek meat for their stomach, rich men stomach 
for their meat. 

Poor men's tables are soon spread. 

Poor men's reasons are not heard. 

Poor people are apt to think every body flouts them. 



143 

Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world. 

Positive men err most of any men. 

Positiveness is an evidence of poor judgment. 

Possession is eleven points in the law. 

Possibilities are infinite. 

Poverty breaks covenants 

Poverty is a complication of evils. 

Poverty is an evil counseller. 

Poverty is a friend to health. 

Poverty is not a shame, but the being ashamed of it is> 

Poverty is shamefully borne by a sluggard. 

Poverty is querulous. 

Poverty makes men ridiculous. 

Poverty makes men poor spirited. 

Poverty on an old man's back is a heavy burden. 

Poverty trieth friends. 

Pour not water on a drowning mouse. 

Praise is always pleasant. 4 

Praise is pleasing to him that thinks he deserves it. 

Praise makes good men better and bad men worse. 

Praise not the day before night. 

Praise not the ford till you are safe over. 

Praise the sea but keep on land. 

Praise without profit puts but little into the pot. 

Praises are admonitions well dressed out. \ 

Praises from an enemy imply real merit. 

Praises from wicked men are reproaches. 

Prate is prate, but it is the duck that lays the egg t 

Prayer should be the key of the day, and the lock of the 
night. 

Precious things are not found in heaps. 

Presumption first blinds a man, and then sets him a run- 
ning. 



1U 

Prettiness is short-lived. 

Prettiness makes no pottage. 

Prevention is much preferable to cure. 

Pride and poverty are ill met, yet often seen together. 

Pride becomes not a rich man, but is insupportable in a 
poor man. 

Pride feels no frost. 

Pride goes before, shame follows after. 

Pride had rather go out of the way than go behind. 

Pride encreaseth our enemies, but putteth our friends to 
flight. 

Pride joined with many virtues choaks them all. 

Pride in prosperity turns to misery in adversity. 

Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and a great deal more 
saucy. 

Pride is scarce ever cured. 

Pride is the most uneasy thing in the world, and the most 
odious. 

Pride is the sworn enemy to content. 

Pride is to be feared even in good actions. 

Pride loves no man, and is beloved of no man. 

Pride may lurk under a thread-bare cloak. 

Pride perceiving humility honorable often borrows her 
cloak. 

Pride scorns a director, and choler a counsellor. 

Pride scorns the vulgar yet lies at its mercy. 

Pride seldom leaves its master without a fall. 

Pride will practise any thing rather than let her port de- 
cline. 

Pride will spit in pride's face. 

Proffered service stinks. 

Promised relief is always welcome. 

Promises engage more effectually than presents. 



145 

Promises may get friends, but 'tis performances that keep 
them. 

Prospect is often better than possession. 

Prosperity and vanity are often lodged together. 

Prosperity often best discovers vices, and adversity vir- 
tue. 

Prosperity destroys fools, and endangers the wise. 

Prosperity gets followers, but adversity distinguishes them. 

Prosperity has damned more souls than all the devils to- 
gether. 

Prosperity has every thing cheap. 

Prosperity knows not the worth of patience. 

Prosperity takes no counsel and fears no calamity. 

Prosperous men seldom mend their faults. 

Proud men cannot bear with pride in others. 

Proud peacocks, all noise and shew. 

Providence directs the dice 

Providence is better than rent. 

Providence is not purblind. 

Providence seems to have forgot the man to whom it sends 
but few friends. 

Prudence is not satisfied with may-be's. 

Prudent cruelty is better than foolish pity. 

Prudent pauses forward business. 

Public reproof hardens shame. 

Pull down thy hat on the windy side. 

Purposing without performing is mere fooling. 

Put a coward to his mettle and he'll fight the devil. 

Put a poor man's penny and a rich man's penny into st 
purse, and they'll come out alike. 

Put another man's child into your bosom and he'll creep 
out at your sleeves. 

Put no money in the scale against virtue. 



146 

Put not an embroidered crupper on an ass. 
Put off your armour and then shew your courage. 
Put your finger into the fire, and say it was your ill for- 
tune. 
Pylades and Orestes died long ago, and left no successors. 

Q 

Quarrelling dogs come halting home. 
Quarrelling dogs should be kicked out of doors. 
. Quarrels could not last long, were but prudence on one 

side. 
Quartane agues kill old men and cure young. 
Quick and nimble, more like a bear than a squirrel. 
Quick at meat quick at work. 
Quick landlords make careful tenants. 
Quick wits are generally conceited. 
Quiet persons are welcome every where. 
Quiet sleep feels no foul weather. 
Quite out of the hooks. 

R 

Ragged colts may make fine horses. 

Raise up no spirits that you cannot conjure down again. 

Rash presumption is a ladder which will break the mount- 
er's neck. 

Rashness is not valour. 

Rashness may conquer, but its not likely it should. 

Raw leather will stretch. 

Reason if we do not live by it, will serve to encrease our 
shame and guilt. 

Reason is a firm foundation to build upon. 

Rebukes ought not to have a grain of salt more than of 
sugar* 



147 

Regulate thy own passions and bear those of others. 
Rejoice, Shrovetide to-day, for to-morrow you'll be ashes. 
Rejoicing at men's misfortunes is, in a degree, dancing at 

their funerals. 
Religion is the best armour in the world, but the worst 

o 

cloak. 

Religion without piety hath done more mischief in the 
world than all other things put together. 

Remember the reckoning. 

Remember thou art but a man. 

Remembering of old injuries invites new ones. 

Remove an old tree and you'll kill it. 

Repentance is not to be measured by inches and hours. 

Repentance is the whip for fools. 

Repent of a good action if you can. 

Repetition is every where unacceptable, though it were 
in Homer. 

Reputation crackt is a Venice-glass broke. 

Reputation depends less upon ourselves than upon for- 
tune. 

Reputation is commonly measured by the acre. 

Reputation is often got without merit, and lost without 
crime. 

Reputation serves to virtue, as light does to a picture. 

Reproof never does a wise man any harm. 

Resty horses must be roughly dealt with. 

Retrench your desires, instead of increasing your sub- 
stance. 

Revenge in cold blood is the devil's own act and deed. 

Revenge is sharp-sighted. 

Revenge never repairs an injury. 

Revenge the longer it is delayed the crueller it grows. 

Reynard is still Reynard though he put on a cowL 

N 2 



148 

Rich men and fortunate men have need of much pru- 
dence 
Rich men feel misfortunes that fly over poor men's heads. 
Rich men have no faults. 
Rich men have often the hearts of poor men. 
Rich men long to be richer 
Rich men's spots are covered with money. 
Riches abuse them who know not how to use them. 
Riches alone make no men happy. 
Riches are but the baggage of fortune. 
Riches are got with pain, kept with care, and lost with 

grief. 
Riches have made more covetous men, than covetousness 

hath made rich men. 
Riches may at any time be left, but not poverty. 
Riches rule the roast. 

Riches serve a wise man, but command a fool. 
Riches rather enlarge than satisfy appetites. 

Riches well got and well used are a great blessing. 

Ride softly that you may get home the sooner. 

Right coral calls for no colouring. 

Right mixture makes good mortar. 

Right reckoning makes long friends. 

Right, Roger, your sow's good mutton* 

Rigid justice is the greatest injustice. 

Rob Peter to pay Paul. 

Rolling stones gather no moss. 

Roman virtue it was that raised the Roman glory. 

Rome was not built in a day. 

Roses have their prickles. 

Roughness may turn one's humor, but flattery one's sto- 
macu. 



149 



Sacrifice not thy heart upon every altar. 

Sadness and gladness succeed each other. 

Sail, quoth the king, hold saith the wind. 

Salt spilt is seldom clean taken up. 

Sampson was a strong man, yet could not pay money be- 
fore he had it. 

Satires run faster than panegyricks. 

Save something for the man that rides on the white horse. 

.Saving is getting. 

Sauce for a goose is sauce for a gander. 

Say not ill of the year till it be past. 

Scabby heads love not the comb. 

Scabby parents will have scurfy children. 

Scald not thy lips with another man's porridge. 

Scalded cats fear even cold water. 

Scandal will rub out like dirt when it is dry. 

Scanderbeg's sword must have Scanderbeg's arm. 

School distinctions are the impressions of the devil's clo- 
ven foot. 

Scepters and suitors hate competitors. 

Scorners are an abomination to a sober man. 

Scorning is catching. 

Scratching is bad, because it begins with pleasure and ends 
w 7 ith pain. 

Seamen are the nearest to death and the farthest to God. 

Search not a wound too deep, lest thou make a new one. 

Search not for a good '.nan's pedigree. 

Secret mines may take the town, when open battery cannot. 

Seeing is believing, but feeling is the truth. 

Seek not to reform every one's dial by your watch. 



N 3 



no 

Seek till you find, and you'll not lose your labour. 

Seek your salve where you got your sore. 

Self do, self have. 

Self-exaltation is the fool's paradise. 

Self- Jove is a mote in every man's eye. 

Self-preservation is nature's first law. 

Sell not the bear-skin before you have caught him. 

Send a fool to market and a fool he'll return. 

Send not for an hatchet to break open an egg with. 

Send not to market for trouble. 

Send your noble blood to market and see what it will 
buy. 

Serpents engender in still waters. 

Servants should put on patience when they put on a li- 
very. 

Servants will not be diligent where the master is negligent. 

Serving one's own passions is the greatest slavery. 

Set a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to the devil. 

Set a stool in the sun, when one knave rises another 
comes. 

Set a thief to catch a thief. 

Set but this feather well to my arrow and he'll certainly 
shoot the mark 

Set hard heart against hard hap. 

Set the hare's head against the goose's giblets. 

Set not your loaf in till the oven is hot. 

Set not your house on fire to be revenged of the moon. 

Seven hour's sleep will make a clown forget his design. 

Seven may be company, but nine are confusion. 

Shake a Liecestershire man by the collar, and you shall 
hear the beans rattle in his belly. 

&hall the goslins teach the goose to swim ? 



151 

Shallow wits censure every thing that is beyond their 
depth. 

Share not pears with your master either in jest or in ear- 
nest 

Sharp stomachs make short devotion. 

She broke her elbow on her wedding day* 

She can laugh and cry both in a wind. 

She cannot leap an inch from a slut. 

She goes as if she cracked nuts with her tail. 

She had rather kiss than spin. 

She has broke her pipkin. 

She has less beauty than her picture hath, and truly not 
much more wit. 

She hath a gad-bee in her tail. 

She hath a tympany with two heels. 

She hath other tow on her distaff. 

She is as common as a barber's chair. 

She is as quiet as a wasp in one's ear. 

She is like a cat, she will play with her own tail. 

She is neither maid, wife nor widow. 

She is not so ugly as to fright one, nor so beautiful as to 
kill one. 

She looks like a cow t — d stuck with primroses. 

She shines like a dry cow t— d. 

She simpers like a Frumenty kettle. 

She spins a good thread that brings up her daughter well. 

She that gazes much spins not much. 

She that hath an ill husband shews it in her dress. 

She that hath spice enough may season as she likes. 

She that is born a beauty is half married. 

She that is ashamed to eat at table, eats in private. 

She that loseth her modesty and honesty, hath nothing 
else worth losing. 



152 

She that marries ill never wants something to say for it. 

She was a neat dame that washed the ass's face 

She was so hungry she could not stay for the parson to 

say grace. 
She who often looks in the glass thinks of her tail. 
She will as soon part with the cook as the porridge. 
She will scold the devil out of a haunted house. 
She will stay at home perhaps if her leg be broke. 
Shew me a liar and I'll shew you a thief. 
Shew me a man without a spot, and I'll shew you a maid 

without a fault. 
Ships fear fire more than water. 
Short and sweet. 
Short pleasures, long pains. 
Short reckonings are soon cleared. 
Short shooting loses the game. 
Sick of the mulligrubs with eating of chopped hay. 
Sickness it better than sadness. 
Sickness is felt, but health not at all. 
Sickness tells us what we are. 
Sickness will spoil the happiness of an emperor as well as 

mine. 
Silent men like still waters are deep and dangerous. 
Silence catches a mouse. 
Silence gives consent. 

Silence is a fine jewel for a woman, but it is little worn. 
Silence is a good receipt against such faults as may cause 

offence. 
Silence is not the greatest vice of a woman. 
Silence is wisdom when speaking is folly. 
Silence seldom hurts. 
Silks and sattins put out the kitchen fire. 



153 

Silly dogs are more angry with the stone, than with the 
hand that flung it. 

Sim steals the horse, and carries home the bridle ho- 
nestly. 

Since he cannot be revenged on the ass, he falls upon the 
pack-saddle 

Since you have been a correcting of me, I have told a hun- 
dred and twenty holes in your grater. 

Since you wronged me, you never had a good thought of 
me. 

Singularity always seems to have a spice of arrogancy 
in it. 

Sin is sin whether it be seen or no. 

Sins and debts are always more than we think them to be. 

Sit firm in thy place and none can hurt thee. 

Sit still rather than rise and fall down. 

Skill is no burden 

Slander flings stones at itself. 

Slander leaves a score behind. 

Slanderers are the devil s bellows to blow up contention, 

Sleeping all the morning makes it night till noon. 

Sleeping foxes have nothing tailing into their mouths. 

Slow and sure, like Pedley s mare. 

Sluggards are never great scholars. 

Sluts are good enough to make a sloven's porridge. 

Small faults indulged are little thieves, that let in greater. 

Small pitchers have wide ears. 

Small rain lays a great dust. 

Small wounds if many, may be mortal. 

So I be warm, let the people laugh. 

So many countries so many customs. 

So many men so many minds. 



154 

So much is mine as I enjoy, and give away for God's 

sake. 
So now you act like yourself, and nobody will trust you. 
So the miracle be wrought, what matter if the devil did it ? 
So yourself be good, a fig for your grandfather. 
Soft fire makes sweet malt. 
Soft words are hard arguments. 
Soft words break no bones. 
Soft words hurt not the mouth. 
Soldiers are martyrs to ambition. 
Soldiers in peace are chimneys in summer. 
Solitude dulls the thought, too much company dissipates it. 
Solitude makes us love ourselves, conversation others. 
Some are atheists only in fair weather. 
Some are very busy and yet do nothing. 
Some fish, some frogs. 
Some had rather guess at much, than take pains to hear 

a* little. 
Some have been thought brave, because they were afraid 

to run away. 
Some injure all they fear, and hate all they injure. 
Some men's no is better received than other's yea. 
Some save-alls do well in a house. 
Some stomachs nauseate even sweet meats. 
Some that speak no ill of any, do no good to any. 
Some will rather lose their best friend than their worst 

joke. 
Some wits can digest before others can chew. 
Some would play a tune before you can tune your fiddle. 
Something hath some savour. 
Sometimes it costs a great deal to do mischief. 
Sometimes it is better to give your apple, than eat it your- 



155 

Sometimes you are like the dog and cat, and sometimes 

like the monkey and his clog. 
Soon got soon spent. 
Soon hot soon cold. 
Soon ripe soon rotten. 
Sorrow comes unsent for. 
Sorrow for a husband is like a pain in the elbow, • sharp 

and short. 
Sorrow is good for nothing but sin. 
Sour grapes can never make sweet wine. 
Sow good works and thou shalt reap gladness. 
Sow wheat in dirt and rye in dust. 
Spaniels that fawn when beaten will never forsake their 

masters. 
Spare at the brim, not at the bottom. 
Spare the rod and spoil the child. 
Spare to speak spare to speed. 
Spare your breath to cool your broth. 
Spare your rhetoric and speak logic. 
Sparrows fight for corn, which is none of their own. 
Speak the truth and shame the devil. 
Speak when you are spoken to, come when you are called, 
Spears are not made of bulrushes- 
Speedy execution is the mother of good fortune. 
Spend and be free, but make no waste. 
Spiders that kill a man cure an ape. 
Spilt wine is worse than water. 

Spin not too fine a thread, lest it break in weaving up. 
Spit in your hand, and take faster hold. 
Spit not against heaven, it will fall back into thy own face. 
Spur not a free horse to death. 
Stake not thy head against another's hat. 
Stale colewort in a fresh dish. 



156 

Standers-by see more than the gamesters. 
Standing pools gather filth. 
Stars are not seen by sunshine. 
Stay till you have sheep before you shear thenl. 
Step after step the ladder is ascended. 
Steer not after every mariners direction. 
Still he fisheth that catcheth one. 
Stop a little to make an end the sooner. 
Strait trees have crooked roots. 
Strength of body is none of the virtues. 
Strike while the iron is hot. 
Striking, and not making it felt, is anger lost. 
Strive not against the stream. 
Study sickness while you are well. 
Stumble at a straw and leap over a block. 
Stumbling often is a sign of falling quite. 
Subtlety set up a trap and catched itself. 
Success is never blamed. 
Such a beginning, such an ending. 
Such a father such a son. 
Such a pot must have such a lid. 
Such a reason pissed my goose. 
Such a welcome such a farewell. 
Such as the priest such is the clerk. 
Such as the tree such is the fruit. 
Sudden friendship sure repentance. 
Sudden glory soon goes out. 
Sudden joy kills sooner than excessive grief. 
Sudden passions are hard to be managed. 
Sue a beggar and catch a louse. 
Suffering for a friend doubleth the friendship. 
Superstition renders a man a fool, and scepticism makes 
him mad. 



157 

Supine facility and good nature are vastly different. 

Sure, he is a lawyer, for he makes indentures as he goes. 

Surely she wears low heeled shoes, she's apt to fail back- 
wards. 

Sure that is a butcher's horse, he carries a calf so well. 

Surgeons cut that they may cure. 

Surgeons must have an eagle's eye, a lion's heart, and a 
lady's hand. 

Surgeons ought not to be full of sores themselves. 

Suspicion may be no fault, but shewing it may be a great 
one. 

Sweep before your own door. 

Sweet-heart and honey- bird, keeps no house. 

Sweet meats must have sour sauce. 

Swine, bees and women, cannot be turned. 

Sympathy of manners maketh conjunction of minds. 



Tailors and writers must mind the fashion. 
Taylor's shreds are worth cutting. 
Take all and pay the baker. 
Take an hair of the same dog that bit } r ou. 
Take away fuel, and you take away fire. 
Take away my good name, and take away my life. 
Take courage, younger than you have been hanged. 
Take heart of grace, younger thou shalt never be. 
Take head you find not what you do not seek. 
Take hold of a good minute. 

Take me upon your back and you will know what I weigh. 
Take not a musket to kill a butterfly. 
Take time while time is, for time will away. 
Take your venture as many a good ship hath done. 
Tale-beaiers are commonly a sort of half-witted men, 

o 



158 

Tales of Robin Hood are good enough for fools. 

Talking pays no toll. 

Talk much and err much. 

Talk of camps but stay at home. 

Tarry-long brings little home. 

Teach your grannum to spin. 

Teach your grannum to suck eggs. 

Teaching of others teacheth the teacher. 

Tell a lie, and find out the truth. 

Tell a tale to a mare, and she'll let a f — t. 

Tell a woman she's a beauty, and the devil will tell her so 

ten times. 
Tell me it snows. 

Tell money after your own mother. 
Tell it well or say nothing. 
Temperance, employment, and a chearful spirit, are the 

great preservers of health. 
Temporizing is sometimes great wisdom. 
Tenterden steeple was the cause of Goodwin's sands. 
The anger is not warrantable that hath seen two suns. 
That bolt never came out of your quiver. 
That cake came out of my oven. 
That city cannot prosper where an ox is sold for less thaa 

a fish. 
That dirt made this dust. 
That dog barks more out of custom than of care of the 

house. 
That falls out sometimes in a day which never fell out be- 
fore. 
That fire that doth not warm me, I will never permit to 

scorch me 
That fire which lighteth us at a distance, will -burn us 

when near. 



159 

That fish will soon be caught that nibbles at every bait. 

That girdle will not gird me. 

That grief is light which is capable of counsel. 

That groat is ill saved that shames the master. 

That hour is coming, when we shall more earnestly wish 
to gain time, than ever we studied to spend it. 

That is a prodigious plaister for so small a sore. 

That is a weak staff to trust to. 

That is a woeful silly sheep that goes to the wolf to con- 
fess. 

That is as likely as to see a hog fly. 

That is as true as that the cat crew, and the cock rocked 
the cradle. 

That is but an empty purse that is full of other folks mo- 
ney. 

That is but a slippery happiness that fortune can* give and 
fortune can take away. 

That is good sport that fills the belly. 

That is no easy pill to be swallowed. 

That is not ours that is got by unlawful means. 

That is not thine which fortune made thine. 

That is the bird that I would catch. 

That is the bitterness of a gift, that it deprives us of our 
liberty. 

That is the old tune upon the bagpipe. 

That is the way to beggar's bush. 

That is the upper end where the chief person sits. 

That is true which all men say. 

That is well spoken which is well taken. 

That man is well bought who costs but a salutation. 

That man sins charitably who damns none but himself 

That mischief comes justly that is of your own seeking, 

o 2 



160 

That patient is not like to recover who makes the doctor 
his heir. 

That penny. is well spent that saves a groat. 

That rabbit is mad that maketh a league with the ferrit. 

That sick man is not to be pitied who hath his cure in his 
sleeve. 

That sort of tympany., which requires nine months for 
cure. 

That trial is not fair where affection is judge. 

That war only is just which is necessary. 

That was new in last year's new almanack. 

That which hath its value from fancy is not very valua- 
ble. 

That which a man causeth to be done, he does himself. 

That which is bred in the bone will never come out in the 
flesh. 

That which is easily done is soon believed. 

That which is one man's meat is another man's poison. 

That which is well done is twice done. 

That which makes wise men modest, makes fools unman- 
nerly. 

That which may fall out at any time may fall out to-day. 

That which proves too much proves nothing. 

That which was bitter to endure may be sw r eet to remem- 
ber. 

That which we may live without we need not covet much. 

That which will not be butter, must be made into cheese. 

That will not make a pot, may make a pot lid. 

That which you sow you must reap. 

The absent party is still faulty. 

The absurdest tongue that is can disparage. 

The absurb vulgar tastes all things by the ear. 

The abuse of riches is w r orse than the want of them. 



161 

The amity which wisdom uniteth not, folly will untie. 

The anvil fears no blows. 

The ape hugs her darling till she kills it. 

The applause of the people is a blast of air. 

The army that comes off best loses some. 

The ass brays when he pleases. 

The ass that carrieth wine drinketh water. 

The axe goes to that wood where it borrowed its helve. 

The back door robbeth the house. 

The bait hides the hook. 

The balance will decide the matter. 

The bee from her industry in the summer eats honey all 
the winter. 

The belief and hope of heaven, is a sufficient encourage- 
ment to virtue, when all others fail. 

The belly hates a long sermon. 

The belly hath no ears. 

The belly that is full may well fast. 

The best cart may overthrow. 

The best cloth may have a moth in it. 

The best fish swim deep. 

The best is at the bottom. 

The best is the best cheap. 

The best metal is iron, the best vegetable wheat, but the 
worst animal is man. 

The best metals lose their lustre, unless brightened by 
use. 

The best patch is off the same cloth. 

The best remedy of afflictions is submitting to providence. 

The best surgeon is he that has been well hacked hi nself. 

The best things are hard to come by. 

The best way to see divine light, is to put out thy own 
candle. 

o 3 



162 

The better day the better deed. 

The better natured the sooner undone. 

The better workman the worse husband. 

The biggest horses are not the best travellers. 

The bitch that I mean is not a dog. 

The black ox never yet trod upon your feet. 

The blind eat many a fly 

The body is the workhouse of the soul. 

The boughs that bears most hang lowest. 

The brains do not lie in the beard. 

The brains of a fox will be of little service if you play with 
the paw of a lion. 

The breast-plate of innocence is not always scandal proof. 

The brightest of all things,, the sun, hath its spots. 

The brother had rather see his sister rich, than make her 

so. 
The burnt child dreads the fire. 
The busy brain, that sows not corn, sows thistles. 
The butcher looked for his knife when he had it in his 

mouth. 
The camel going to get horns lost his ears. 
The cart before the horse. 
The cat invites the mouse to a feast. 
The cat knows whose lips she licks. 
The cat sees not every mouse. 
The chamber of sickness is the chapel of devotion. 
The chapel is not so little, but the priest may say service 

in it. 
The cheap buyer takes bad meat. 

The chickens are the country's, but the city eats them. 
The chief end of man is not to get money. 
The child saith nothing but what he heard at the fire-side. 



163 

The church is out of temper when charity waxeth cold, and 
zeal hot. 

The clock goes as it pleaseth the clerk. 

The coin that is most current amongst us, is flattery. 

The collier and his money are both black. 

The comforter's head never aches. 

The commandments have made as many good martyrs as 
the creed. 

The common hackney horse is the worst shod. 

The company keeper has almost as many snares as com- 
panions. 

The complaints of the present times, is the general com- 
plaint of all times. 

The conquered is never called w 7 ise, nor the conqueror rash. 

The crane suckled the ass. 

The credit that is got by a lie, lasts no longer than till the 
truth comes out. 

The cross on the breast and the devil in the heart. 

The crow thinks her own bird fairest. 

The crutch of time does more than the club of Hercules. 

The cuckold was very cunning, but he was cunninger that 
cuckold him. 

The day of our birth is one day's advance towards our 
death. 

The day that a man knows he commits a sin, he con- 
demns himself. 

The day that you do a good thing there will be seven new 
moons* 

The dead, and only they, should do nothing. 

The dead are got quite away from fortune. 

The dead are past feeling. 

The dearer it is, the cheaper it is to me, for I shall buy 
the less. 



164 

The death of your first wife made such an impression in 
your heart, that all the rest fly through. 

The death of youth is a shipwreck 

The devil doth not lie dead in a ditch. 

The devil gets up to the belfry by the vicar's skirts. 

The devil hath owed me a cake of a long time, and now 
hath paid me a loaf. 

The devil himself is good when he is pleased. 

The devil is a busy bishop in his own diocese. 

The devil is always buying our souls of us. 

The devil is never nearer, than when we are talking of him. 

The devil is not always at one door. 

The devil is the perfectest courtier. 

The devil lies brooding in the miser's chest. 

The devil rebukes sin. 

The devil's behind the cross. 

The devil's flour is half bran. 

The discreet hand doth not do all that the tongue says. 

The disobedience of the patient makes the Physician seem 
cruel. 

The drunkard continually assaults his own life. 

The dust, raised by the sheep, does not choke the wolf. 

The early sower never borrows of the late. 

The earth produces all things, and receives all again. 

The earthen pot must keep clear of the brass kettle. 

The ebb will fetch off what the tide brings in. 

The end makes all equal. 

The end of fishing is not angling but catching. 

The end of passion is the beginning of repentance. 

The entreaty of a great man, is putting of a force upon us. 

The envious hurt others something, but himself very much* 

The envious man's face grows sharp and his eyes big. 

The epicure puts his purse into his belly ; and the miser 
his belly into his purse. 



165 

The eternal talker neither hears nor learns. 

The evening crowns the day. 

The evil that cometh out of thy mouth, flyeth into thy 

bosom. 
The eye is the pearl of the face. 
The eye that sees all things else, sees not itself. 
The eyes, the ears, the tongue, the hands, the feet, they 

all fast in their way. 
The exposition is better than the text. 
The face should give leave to the tongue to speak. 
The failings of other men accuse us of frailty. 
The fairer the hostess, the fouler the reckoning. 
The fairer the paper, the fouler the blot. 
The fairest looking shoe may pinch the foot. 
The fairest rose at last is withered. 
The fairest silk is the soonest stained. 
The family of the public- spirited men is always extinct. 
The father sighs more at the death of one son, than he 

smiles at the birth of many. 
The fault of the ass must not be laid on the pack-saddle. 
The favour of great men, and praise of the world, are not 

much to be relied on. 
The file grates other things ; but rub itself out too. 
The fly that playeth too long in the candle, singeth her 

wings at last. 
The fire that burneth, taketh out the heat of a burn. 
The first breath is the beginning of death. 
The first chapter of fools is to esteem themselves wise. 
The first cut, and all the loaf besides. 
The first dish pleaseth all. 
The first faults are theirs that commit them; the second 

theirs that permit them. 



166 

The first men in the world, were a garden er, a plough- 
man, and a grasief. 

The first pig, but the last whelp of the litter is best. 

The first step to a good name is a good life ; and the next 
is good behaviour. 

The first step to virtue, is to love virtue in another man. 

The first step towards virtue, is to abstain from vice. 

The fish by struggling in the net, hampers itself the more. 

The fish may be caught in a net, that will not come to a 
hook. r 

The fork is commonly the rake's heir. 

The fool is busy in every one's business but his own. 

The fool runs away while his house is burning down. 

The fool saith, who would have thought it ? 

The fool wanders, the wise man travels. 

The foot on the cradle, the hands on the distaff. 

The fowler's pipe sounds sweet, till the bird is caught. 

The fox fares best when he is most cursed. 

The fox knows much, but more he that catcheth him. 

The fox may grow grey, but never good. 

The fox praiseth the meat out of the crow's mouth. 

The fox's wiles will never enter into the lion's head. 

The friar preached against theft, when he had a goose in 
his sleeve. 

The frog sings ; and yet she has neither hair nor wool to 
cover her. 

The frost hurts not weeds. 

The frying-pan said to the kettle, avant black brows. 

The further you run, the further you are behind. 

The furthest way about, is the nearest way home. 

The gallows groans for you. / 

The generous man pays for nothing so much as what is 
given him. 



167 

The golden age never was the present age. 
The good are joyful in the midst of poverty ; but the wick- 
ed are sad in great riches. 
The good man of the house is the last that knows what is 

done at home. 
The good you do is not lost, though you forget it. 
The gown is hers that wears it ; and the world his tha£ 

enjoys it. 
The grand-mother's correction makes no impression. 
The grey mare is the better horse. 
The grave is the general meeting-place. 
The great and the little have need of one another. 
The great thieves punish the little ones. 
The greater the man, the greater the crime. 
The greatest barkers are not the greatest biters. 
The greatest business of life is to prepare for death. 
The greatest calf is not the sweetest veal. 
The greatest clerks are not the wisest men. 
The greatest expence we can be at, is that of our time. 
The greatest favourites are in the most danger of falling. 
The greatest hate springs from the greatest love 
The greatest learning is to be seen in the greatest plain- 
ness. 
The greatest mischief you can do the envious is to do 

well. 
The greatest oaks have but little acorns. 
The greatest packs are not always the richest. 
The greatest sounds are not the best music. 
The greatest things are done by the help of small ones. 
The greatest vessel hath but its measure. 
The greatest wealth is contentment with a little. 
The ground of true sorrow for sin, is the love of God. 
The groundsel speaketh but what it heard of the hinge?/ 



168 



The guilty man fears the law; the innocent man fortune. 

The guts uphold the heart, and not the heart the guts. 

The hare starts when a man least expects it. 

The head grey, and no brains yet. 

The heathen s fortune is the christian's providence. 

The heathens when they died, went to bed without a can- 
dle. 

The hermit thinks the sun shines no where but in his cell. 

The higher an ape mounts, the more he shews his breech. 

The higher a proud man is raised, the giddier he is. 

The higher the hill, the lower the grass. 

The higher, the lower; and the more advanced, the more 
humble. 

The highest spoke in fortune's wheel may soon turn low- 
est. 

The highway is never about. 

The hindermost dog catcheth the hare. 

The hog is got into the honey-pot. 

The hog never looks up to him that threshes down the 
acorns. 

The holidays of joy, are the virgils of sorrow. 

The horse next the mill carries all the grist. 

The horse that draws his halter is not quite escaped. 

The hungry belly thinks the throat cut. 

The hypocrite hurts himself; the libertine the whole so- 
ciety. 

The idle mill earns nothing. 

The jewel is not to he valued for the cabinet. 

The informer is the worst rogue of the two. 

The joy of Jerusalem depends upon the peace of Zion. 

The isle of Wight hath no monks, lawyers, or foxes. 

The judge is condemned when the criminal is absolved. 

The kick of the dam hurts not the colt. 



169 

The kid that keeps above, is in no danger of the wolf. 

The king can make a serjeant, but not a lawyer. 

The king may bestow offices, but cannot bestow wit to 

manage them. 
The king may give the honour, but thou art to make thy- 
self honourable. 
The king of good-fellows, is appointed for the queen of 

beggars, 
The king's cheese goes half away in parings. 
The king's favour is no inheritance. 
The lame tongue gets nothing. 
The lame post brings the truest news. 
The lapwing cries most when furthest from her nest. 
The last benefit is most remembered. 
The last evil smarts most. 
The last suitor wins the maid. 
The last taste of things gives them the name of sweet oi ? 

sour. 
The laundress washeth her own smock first. 
The lazy servant to save one step, goes eight. 
The least and weakest man can do some hurt. 
The least boy carries the biggest fiddle. 
The least wit a man has, the less he knows that he wants 

it. 
The lesser the temptation, the greater the sin. 
The little wimble will let in the great auger. 
The longest day must have. an end. 
The longest life is but a parcel of moments. 
The loquacity of fools, is a lecture to the wise. 
The love of the wicked is more dangerous than there ha* 

tred. 
The low stakes stand long. 

The lower mill.-stone grinds as much as the upper one. 

p 



170 

The lute is in the hand of him that knows how to play 
on it. 

The luxurious want many things, the covetous all things. 

The liar is sooner caught than the cripple. 

The lion's not half so fierce as he is painted. 

The lion's skin is never cheap. 

The mad dog bites his master. 

The maintaining of one vice, costeth more than ten vir- 
tues. 

The man in the moon drinks claret. 

The master's eye makes the horse fat. 

The meekness of Moses is better than the strength of 
Sampson. 

The memory of a benefit soon vanisheth, but the remem- 
brance of an injury sticketh fast in the heart. 

The memory of happiness makes misery woeful. 

The mill cannot grind with the water that is past. 

The mind is the man. 

The mob has many heads, but no brains. 

The moon is a moon still, whether it shine or not. 

The moon is made of green cheese. 

The more acquaintance, the more danger. 

The more cooks, the worse broth. 

The more danger, the more honour. 

The more friends, the more danger. 

The more haste, the w r orse speed 

The more haste we make in a wrong way, the further we 
are from our journey's end. 

The more knave, the better fortune. 

The more laws, the more offenders. 

The more light a torch gives, the less while it lasts. 

The more Moors, the greater the victory. 

The more riches a fool hath, the greater fool he is. 



171 

The more the merrier, the fewer the better cheer. 

The riore wit, the less courage. 

The more women look into their glass, the less they look 
into their hearts. 

The more you stir, the more you stink. 

The most exquisite folly is made of wisdom too fine spun. 

The most lamentable spectacle in the world is a dead man. 

The most lasting monuments are doubtless the paper 
monuments. 

The most penitent anchorite has now and then a small 
flight of vanity. 

The mother-in-law, remembers not that she was a daugh- 
ter-in-law. 

The mother knows best whether the child be like the fa- 
ther. 

The motions of passion and of concience, are two things. 

The mountains have brought forth a mouse. 

The mouse that hath but one hole, is easily caught. 

The multitude of offenders is their protection. 

The muses love the morning. 

The nature of things will not be altered by our fancies of 
them. 

The nearer the church, the further from God. 

The noblest remedy of injuries is oblivion. 

The noisy drum hath nothing in it, but meer air. 

The noisy fowler catches no birds. 

The number of the malefactors, authorizes not the crime. 

The nurse is valued till the child be done sucking. 

The old horse must die in somebody's keeping. 

The old man's staff is the rapper at death's door. 

The old withie-tree would have a new gate hung at it. 

The old woman would never have looked for her daughter 
in the oven, had she not been there herself, 

p 2 



172 

The older the fool is, the worse he is. 

The only way to be sure of not losing a child, is never to 

have any. 
The only way to know and to serve God, is to be like 

him. 
The orange that is too hard squeezed, yields a bitter 

juice. 
The owl is not accounted the wiser, for living retiredly. 
The owl thinks all her young ones beauties. 
The ox when he is weary, treads surest. 
The paleness of the pilot is a sign of a storm. 
The parings of a pippin are better than a whole crab. 
The passions are like fire and water ; good servants, but 

bad masters. 
The patient hath more need of the physician, than the 

physician of the patient 
The people will worship even a calf, if it be but a golden 

one. 
The pine wishes herself a shrub, when the axe is at her 

root. 
The pitcher that goes often to the well, comes home 

broken at last. 
The pleasures of the rich are bought with the tears of the 

poor. 
The pleasure of this world consists in having necessaries, 

nolr superfluities 
The pleasure of what we enjoy, is lost by coveting more. 
The plough goes not well, if the ploughman hold it not. 
The poet, of all sorts of artificers, is the fondest of his 

works. 
The poor keep a continual fast. 
The poor nan x.as nis corn destroyed by hail every year. 



173 

The poor man turns his cake, and another comes and 

eats it. 
The poor man's penny unjustly detained, is a coal of fire 

in a rich man's purse. 
The poor man's shilling is but a penny. 
The poorest meat requires some dress. 
The present fashion is always handsome. 
The prick of a pin is enough to make an Empire insipid 

for a time. 
The priest forgets he was a dark. 
The prodigal robes the heir, the miser himself. 
The proof of a pudding is in the eating. 
The proof of obedience is found in small matters more 

than in great. 
The proudest vice is ashamed to w T ear its own face long. 
The purest gold is most ductile. 

The purse-strings are the most common ties of friendship, 
The race is got by running. 

The raven said to the rook, stand away black coat. 
The revenge of an idiot is without mercy. 
The reward of love is jealousy. 
The rich are trustees under God for the poor. 
The rich follow wealth, and the poor the rich. 
The rich need not beg a welcome. 
The rich never want for kindred. 
The rich poor man is emphatically poor. 
The rich widow cries with one eye, and laughs with the 

other. 
The righteous find peace, when the wicked feel torment. 
The road is not bad if I get home well. 
The sea complains for want of water. 
The sea refuses no river. 
The second blow makes the fray. 

P 3 



174 

The second vice is lying, the first being that of owing 

money. 
The selvedge sheweth the cloth. 
The shirt is nearer than the coat. 
The sign invites you in, 'but your money must redeem 

you out. 
The singing man keeps his shop in his throat. 
The slothful man is the beggar's brother 
The sluggard makes his night till noon. 
The sluggard's convenient season never comes. 
The small cart creaks, as the heavy wain should do. 
The smaller the drink, the cooler the blood, and the 

clearer the head. 
The smallness of the kitchen makes the house the bigger* 
The smith hath always a spark in his throat. 
The smoak follows the fair. 
, The smoak of one's own house is better than the fire at 

another's 
The snail slides up the tower at last, though the swallow 

mounteth it sooner. 
The society of ladies is a school of politeness. 
The sole holdeth with the upper leather. 
The sooty oven mocks the black chimney. 
The soul is not where it lives, but where it loves. 
The soul of a cholerick man si s ever by the fire-side. 
The soul payeth soundly for the house-room in the body. 
The spaniel that fawneth when he is beaten, will never 

forsake his master. 
The sparrow builds in the martin's nest- 
The spider lost her distaff, and is ever since forced to 

draw her thread through her tail 
The still sow eats up all the draff. 
The still humours are always the worst. 



ITS 

The sting of a reproach is the truth of it. 

The stone that lieth not in your way, need not offend 

you. 
The stream can never rise above the spring-head. 
The study of vain things is laborious idleness. 
The subject's love is the king's best guard. 
The sun can be seen by nothing but its own light. 
The sun has stood still, but time never did 
The sun is never the worse for shining on a dunghill. 
The sun is still beautiful, though ready to set. 
The sun may do its duty, though your grapes are not ripe. 
The swan sings when death comes. 
The sweat of Adam's brow hath streamed down our's ever 

since. 
The sweetest wine makes the sharpest vinegar,. 
The table is a great robber. 
The tale runs as it pleases the teller. 
The taste of the kitchen is better than the smell. 
The tatler's tongue is ever dancing a silly jig. 
The tailor that makes not a knot, loseth a stitch. 
The tears of a whore, and the oaths of a bully, may be put 

in the same bottle. 
The thief is sorry that he is to be hanged, but not that he 

is a thief. 
The thief s wife laugheth not always. 
The thought has good wings, and the quill a good tongue, 
The thread leads to the bottom. 
The thrush avoiding the trap, fell into bird-lime. 
The thunder has but its clap. 

The time to come is no more ours than the time past. 
The tongue breaketh the bone, though it hath none itself, 
The tongue is ever turning to the aching tooth. 
- The tongue is not steel yet it cuts sorely. 



176 

The tongue is the rudder of our ship. 

The tongue of a fool carves a piece of his heart, to all that 

sit near him. 
The tongue of idle persons is never idle. 
The tongue talks at the head's cost. 
The touch -stone distinguishes between gold and brass. 
The town bull is as much a bachelor as he. 
The tree is no sooner down, but every one runs for his 

hatchet. 
The true gentlemen is God's servant, the world's master, 

and his own man. 
The two principal things are wisdom and health. 
The venom of a viperous tongue may be converted inte 

treacle. 
The very best men stand in need of pardon. 
The very falling of leaves frights hares. 
The vicar of Bray will be vicar of Bray stilL 
The unfortunate are counted fools. 
The voice of an ass will never reach heaven. 
The usefulest truths are the plainest. 
The usual trade and commerce, is cheating all round by 

consent. 
The usurer and younkier are cat and mouse. 
The vulgar will keep no account of your hits, but of your 

misses. 
The water that comes from the same spring, cannot be 

fresh and salt both. 
The way to avoid great faults, is to beware of less. 
The way to Babylon, will never bring you to Jerusalem* 
The way to be safe, is never to be secure. 
The way to live much, is to begin to live well betimes. 
The weakest and most timorous, are *the most revengeful 

and implacable. 



177 

The weakest go to the wall. 

The wearer only knows where the shoe harts him. 

The whole ocean is made up of single drops. 

The wicked grow worse, and the good men better fo¥ 

trouble. 
The wicked heart never fears God, but when it thunders. 
The wife is the key of the house. 
The wind blows not always west 

The wind is not in your debt, though it fills not your sail. 
The wind keeps not always in one quarter. 
The wind that blows out candles kindles the fire. 
The wise man draws more advantage from his enemies, 

than a fool from bis friends. 
The wise man, even hen he holds his tongue, says more 

than t»ie fool, when ie speaks. 
The wise man is born to rule the fool. 
The wit of you, and the wool of a blue dog, would make a 

very good medley. 
The wolf and fox are both privateers. 
The wolf doth something every week, that hinders him 

from going to church a Sunday. 
The wolf never wants for a pretence against a lamb. 
The wooing was a day after the wedding. 
The world is a ladder for some to go up, and some down. 
The world is a net, the more we stir in it, the more we 

are entangled. 
The world is not so much knave, that it holds honesty to 

be a vice and a tolly. 
The world is too narrow for two fools a quarrelling. 
The world's busy man is the grand impertinent. 
The world would perish, were ail men learned. 
The '\orse iuck now, :he be ter anot >ei time. 
The worse the passage, tne more weiCjme the port. 



178 

The worst of men are those who will not forgive. 

The worst part of poverty, is to bear it impatiently. 

The worst spoke in a cart is broke first. 

The wound that bleedeth inwardly is most dangerous. 

The wrath of brothers is fierce and devilish. 

There are as well serious follies, as light ones. 

There are many rare abilities in the world, which fortune 

never brings to light. 
There are more lords in the world than fine gentlemen. 
There are more natural buffoons than artificial. 
There are more old drunkards than old physicians. 
There are more maids than Moggy, a$id more men than 

Jockey. 
There are more threatened than struck. 
There are more ways to the wood than one. 
There are more ways to kill a dog than hanging. 
There are no birds this year in last year's nests. 
There are no coxcombs so troublesome as those that have 

some wit. 
There can be no friendship, where there can be no freedom. 
There belongs more than whistling to a ploughman. 
There cannot be a more intolerable thing than a fortunate 

fool. 
There could be no great ones, if there were no little ones. 
There goes the wedge where the beetle drives it. 
There I caught a knave in a purse-net. 
There is abundance of money spent to be laughed at. 
There is a bone for you to pick. 
There is a critical minute for all things. 
There is a deal of difference between love and gratefulness. 
There is a different fame goes about of every man. 
There is a fault in the house, but would you have it built 

without any. 



179 

There is a knack of shewing we understand the matter, 

when we hold our peace. 
There is a medium betwixt all fool and all philosopher. 
There is a remedy for every thing, could we but hit 

upon it. 
There is a scarcity of friendship, but not of friends. 
There is a Rowland for your Oliver. 
There is a snake in the grass. 
There is a sort of pleasure in indulging of grief. 
There is something in it, quoth the fellow, when he drunk 

dish-clout and all. 
There is a time to wink as well as to see. 
There is a witness every where. 
There is as much greatness in owning a good tmn, as in 

the doing of it. 
There is as much hold of his words, as of a wet eel's tail. 
There is but bad choice where the whole stock is bad. 
There is chance in a cock's spur. 
There is no companion like the penny. 
There is craft in daubing. 

There is difference between living long and suffering long. 
There is falsehood in fellowship. 
There is God's poor, and the devil's poor ; the first from 

providence, the other from vice. 
There is life in a muscle 

There is little due to pleasure, but much to health. 
There is many a good wife, that cannot sing and dance 

well. 
There is more money got by ill means than by good acts. 
There is much more pleasure in loving, than in being be- 
loved. 
There is much more learning than knowledge in the world* 
There is no adding to fundamentals. 



180 

There is no art that can make a fool wise. 

There is no banquet, but some dislike something in it. 

There is no better looking-glass than an old friend. 

There is no condition but what sits well upon a wise man. 

There is no difference of bloods in a bason. 

Their is no disputing of tastes, appetites and fancies. 

There is no fence against a panick fright. 

There is no going to heaven in a sedan. 

There is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers. 

There is no man so bad but has a secret respect for the 
good. 

There is no more hold of a new friend, than of a new fa- 
shion 

There is no need of a ferret to catch an harlot. 

There is no piety in keeping an unjust promise. 

There is no plea for the wilful. 

There is no pot so ugly that a cover cannot be found for it. 

There is no relying on a starry sky. 

There is no remedy for all evils but death- 

There is no reputation so clear but a slanderer may stain it. 

There is no short cut of a way without some ill way. 

There is no such flatterer as a man's self. 

There is no sufficient recompence for an unjust slander. 

There is no true holiness without humility. 

There is no usual rule without an exception. 

There is no woe like to want. 
' There is no wool so white, but a dyer can make it black. 

There is none deceived but he that trusteth. 

There is none so simple but can give counsel. 

There is not always good cheer where the chimney smokes. 

There is not an hair so small but hath its shadow. 

There is not so much comfort in the having of children, 
as there is sorrow in parting with them. 



181 

There is not the thickness of a sixpence between good and 
evil. 

There is nothing more precious than time, and nothing 
more prodigally wasted. 

There is reason in roasting of eggs. 

There is small difference (to the eye of the world) in being 
Naught, and being thought so. 

There is some difference between Peter and Peter. 

There is some virtue or other to be exercised, whatever 
happens. 

There is winter enough for the snipe and woodcock too. 

There may be blue, and better blue. 

There may be such things as old fools and young counsellors. 

There must be two at least to a quarrel. 

There needs a long apprenticeship, to understand the mys- 
tery of the world's travte. 

There never wants a ragged one, for one that is ripped. 

There were no ill language, if it were not ill taken. 

There were such black swans formerly as truth and ho- 
nesty. 

Therefore a man is a cuckold, because two are too hard 
for one. 

They agree like bells ; they want nothing but hanging. 

They agree like dogs and cats coupled. 

They agree like London-clocks. 

They are clove and orange. 

They are finger and thumb. 

They are hand and glove. 

They are like bells ; every one in a several note. 

They are little to be feared, whose tongues are their swords. 

They are not all saints that use holy water. 

They are rich who have true friends. 

They are scarce of horses when two ride on a doo*. 

Q 



182 

They are so like that both are the worse for it. 

They both put their hands in one glove. 

They cannot set their horses together. 

They complain wrongfully of Neptune, that twice suffered 

shipwreck. 
They have begun a dispute which the devil will not let 

them make an end of. 
They have great need of a blessing that kneel to a thistle* 
They hurt themselves that wrong others. 
They love dancing well, that dance barefoot upon thorns. 
They may sit in the chair who have malt to sell. 
They must hunger in winter, that will not work in summer. 
They need much whom nothing will content. 
They say so, is half a lie. 

They seldom live long who think they shall live long; 
They that are bound must obey. 
They that are full of themselves are wise only for want of 

thinking. 
They that burn you for a witch lose all their coals. 
They that buy an office must sell something. 
They that command the most, enjoy themselves the least. 
They that desire but a few things, can he crossed but in 

few. 
They that do nothing learn to do ill. 
They that fear an overthrow are half-beaten. 
They that have good store of butter may lay it on thick. 
They that hide can find. 
They that live longest must die at last. 
They that live longest must go farthest for wood. 
They that talk like philosophers are often observed to act 

like fools. 
They that value not praise, will never do any thing worthy 
of praise. 



183 

They that walk in the sun must be content to be tanned. 

They were both equally bad ; so the devil put them to- 
gether. 

They who cannot do as they would, must do as they can. 

Then I'll thatch Grooly-Pool with pancakes. 

Things above thy heighth are to be looked at, not reached 
at. 

Things hardly attained, are long retained. 

Things not understood are admired. 

Things that are accidents to us, are providences to God. 

Things that differ in the end, will part in the way. 

Think of thy deliverance as well as of thy danger. 

This and better may do, but this and worse will never do. 

This blustering can never untile my house. 

This day is yours, but whose shall to-morrow be ? 

This day there is no trust, but come to-morrow. 

This, or any moment may be your last. 

This world is ever running its round. 

Though a coat be never so fine that a fool wears, yet 'tis 
still but a fool's coat. 

Though all men were made of one metal, yet they were 
not cast all in the same mould. 

Though love is blind, yet 'tis not for want of eyes. 

Though malice darken truth, it cannot put it out. 

Though modesty be a virtue, yet bashfulness is a vice. 

Though the cat winks, she is not blind. 

Though the fox runs the chickens have wings. 

Though the generous matt care the least for wealth ; yet 
he will be the most galled with the want of it. 

Though the heavens be glorious, yet they are not all stars. 

Though the mastiff be gentle, yet bite him not by the lip # 

Though the sauce be good, yet you need not forsake the 
meat for it. 

Q 2 



184 

Though the sore be healed, yet a scar may remain. 

Though the sun shines, take your cloak. 

Though thy enemy seem a mouse, yet watch him like a 

lion. 
Though thy water be never so muddy, do not say, I will 

never drink of it. 
Though you are bound to love your enemy, you are not 

bound to put your sword in his hand. 
Though you stroak the nettle never so kindly, yet it will 

sting you. 
Those are miserable pleasures that must end in pain. 
Those are praised most, that are praised without any in- 
terest. 
Those see nothing but faults, that seek for nothing else. 
Those that are in love, think other people's eyes out. 
Those that are always angry, are little regarded. 
Those that are stung by the scorpion, are healed by the 

scorpion. 
Those that complain of every thing, never want the head- 

ach. 
Those that eat cherries with great persons, shall have their 

eyes squirted out with the stones. 
Those that eat the best and drink the best, commonly do 

worst. 
Those that have much business, must have much pardon. 
Those that make the best use of their time, have none to 

spare. 
Those that too much reverence the ancients, are a scorn to 

the moderns. 
Thorns make the greatest crackling. 
Thou art as like to obtain thy wish, as the wolf is to eat 

the moon. 
Thou canst not fly high with borrowed wings. 



185 

Thou canst not serve God, unless thy mammon serve 

thee. 
Thou shalt have moon-shine in thy mustard-pot for it. 
Threatened folks live long. 
Three are too many to keep a secret, and too few to be 

merry. 
Three may keep counsel^ if two be away. 
Three women and a goose make a market. 
Thrift is the philosopher's stone. 
Throw not stones at thine own window. 
Throw the rope in after the bucket. 
Throwing your cap at a bird is not the way to catch it. 
Tie a dog to a crab-tree, and he will never love verjuice 

more. 
Till death all is life. 

Till vice gets an habit, there is a remedy for it. 
Time and straw ripen medlars 
Time and thought tame the greatest grief. 
Time and tide tarry for no man. 
Time and words cannot be recalled. 
Time devours all things. 
Time is the rider that breaks in youth. 
Time past may be repented, but can never be recalled. 
Time spent in vice or folly is doubly lost. 
Time wrongs antiquity. 

Timely and wise fear of danger prevents danger. 
Timely blossom, timely fruit. 
Tittle-tattle, give the goose more hay. 
'Tis a good ill that comes alone. 
'Tis a most sad sight to see an old man in misery. 
'Tis a sign of an ill cause to rail at your adversary. 
'Tis a sweet sorrow to bury an outra^ious wife. 
'Tis a wicked world, and we make part of it. 

Q 3 



186 

*Tis almost as easy to find a true diamond, as a true 
friend. 

'Tis altogether vain to learn wisdom, and yet live fool- 
ishly. 

'Tis an unhappy wit that stirs up enemies against itself. 

'Tis as natural for women to pride themseVes in fine 
clothes, as it is for a peacock to spread his tail. 

'Tis better to suffer wrong than do it, 

'Tis ! rave scrambling at the rich man's dole. 

'Tis clemency that makes the absolute conquest. 

'Tis comparison that makes men happy or miserable. 

'Tis easy to fall into a trap, but hard to get out again. 

°Tis easier to avoid a fault than acquire perfection. 

H is easier to bear unkindnesses than affronts. 

'Tis easier to know how to speak, than how to be silent. 

'Tis easier to miss, than to hit a needle's eye. 

5 Tis easier to preserve a friend, than to recover him when 
lost. 

'Tis easier to ridicule than commend. 

'Tis fortune chiefly that makes heroes. 

? Tis generous to bear an injury, but dangerous to requite 
it. 

'Tis God's blessing that makes the pot boil. 

'Tis good grafting on a good stock. 

*Tis good riding in a safe 1 arbour. 

'Tis good to go a foot with a horse in hand. 

'Tis harder to unlearn than learn. 

'Tis heighth that makes Grantham steeple stand awry, 

'Tis in vain to kick, after you have once put on fetters. 

'Tis in vain to speak reason, where it will not be heard. 

'Tis late ere an old man comes to know he is old. 

lis liberty that every one loves. 

'Tis money that begets money. 



187 

'Tis more your goodness, than my desert. 

'Tis not clean linen only, that makes the feast. 

'Tis not every question that deserves an answer. 

'Tis not for every one to catch a salmon. 

'Tis not good to be happy too young. 

'Tis not knowing much, but what is useful, that makes a 
wise, man. 

'Tis not liberty to live licentiously. 

'Tis not other's apprehensions, but your own liking that 
should please you. 

'Tis not prating but working, that brings in the harvest. 

'Tis not the action, but the intention, that is good or bad. 

'Tis not the beard that makes the philosopher. 

'Tis not the armour, but the right placing of it. 

'Tis not the habit that makes the monk. 

'Tis not the matter, but the mind. 

'Tis not the husbandman, but the good weather, that 
makes the corn grow. 

'Tis not the suffering, but the cause and the patience that 
makes a martyr. 

'Tis not your posterity, but your actions, that will perpe- 
tuate your memory. 

'Tis novelty that sets the people a gaping. 

'Tis perseverance that prevails. 

'Tis pity thou art not a little more tongue-tied. 

'Tis pride, and not nature, that craves much. 

'Tis pride in fashion, that puts humility out of counte- 
nance. 

'Tis rare to find a fish,, that will not sometime or other 
bite. 

'Tis self-conceit that makes opinion obstinate. 

'Tis skill, not strength, that governs a ship. 

'Tis the abilities of a horse that occasions his slavery. 



188 

*Tis the early bird that catcheth the worm. 

'Tis the horse that stumbles, and not the saddle. 

'Tis the last feather that breaks the horse's back. 

5 Tis the men, not the houses, that makes the city. 

'Tis the place that shews the man. 

*Tis the riches of the mind only that make a man rich 

and happy. 
*Tis time, conversation and business, that discovers what 

a man is. 
'Tis wisdom sometimes to seem a fool. 
To a crazy ship all winds*are contrary. 
To a good spender, God is a treasurer. 
To a mortal man, no evil is immortal. 
To a wise man, living is thinking. 
To be a fool or knave in print, doth but bring the truth to 

light. 
To be conquered by an hero is an honour. 
To be daily dying is a blessed life. 
To be deceived by a promise, is worse than to be put by 

one's hopes. 
To be employed in useless things, is half to be idle. 
To be virtuous, is to do good, and to do it well. 
To be proud of an hereditary title, is to rant it in a dead 

man's clothes. 
To beg a courtesy is to sells one's liberty. 
To believe a business impossible, is the way to make it so. 
To beg teeth of a roost-cock 

To blush at vice, shews the world you are ashamed of it. 
*To bring an old house over one's head. 
To cast oil into the fire, is not the way to quench it. 
To catch a Tartar. 
To catch two pigeons with one pea. 
To come in pudding-time. 



189 

To come sailing in a sow's ear. 

To command many will cost much. 

To contemn a just commendation, is to kick at a kindness. 

To contemn the poor because of his poverty, is to affront 

God's providence. 
To continue good amongst ill men, that is the point. 
To cut down an oak, and plant a thistle. 
To-day a man, to-morrow a mouse. 
To-day is yesterday's pupil. 
To-day me, to-morrow thee. 
To dive deep and bring up a potsherd. 
To do good to the ungrateful, is to throw rose-water into 

the sea. 
To draw the worm out of the root. 
To eat and to scratch, a man need but begin. 
To eat well is no whoredom, and to starve is no gentility. 
To escape the rocks, and perish in the sands. 
To fall away from a horse load to a cart load. 
To favour the ill, is to injure the good. 
To fawn with the tail, and bite with the mouth. 
To feather one's own nest. 
To fish with a herring, and catch a sprat. 
To fly upon plunder and lose the battle. 
To fly with waxed wings. 
To get out of one mire to run into another. 
To give a reason for fancy, were to weigh the fire and 

measure the wind. 
To go a coney catching with a dead ferret. 
To go a cricket hunting. 
To go against reason and conscience, is to rebel against 

God himself. 
To go as fast as a friar that is invited to dinner. 
To go like a bear to a stake. 



190 

To go out a pilgrim, and come home a courtesan. 

To go thorough-stitch with a business. 

To go through fire and water to serve a friend. 

To grease a fat sow. 

To grow old at court, and die in the hospital. 

To have an oar in every man's boat; 

To have the world in a string. 

To him that has a bad taste, sweet is bitter. 

To him that wills, ways are seldom wanting. 

To him that you tell your secret, you resign your liberty. 

To hit the nail on the head. 

To hold the wolf by the ears. 

To hold one's nose to the grind-stone. 

To hold with the hare, and run with the hounds. 

To hug one as the devil hugs a witch. 

To jest is tolerable, but to do harm by jest is insufferable. 

To keep a custom, you hammer the anvil still, though 

you have no iron. 
To kill two birds with one stone. 
To lather an ass's head is but spoiling of soap. 
To laugh in one's face, and cut one's throat. 
To leave all at sixes and sevens. 
To leave no stone unturned. 
To lick honey through a cleft stick. 
To lie at rack and manger. 

To live is not to spend or waste time, but to employ it. 
To love the door, and leave the hatch. 
To make a bolt or a shaft of it. 
To make a bridge of one's nose. 
To make a man valiant, abuse him lustily. 
To make a mountain of a mole hill. 
To make two friends with one gift. 
To make white black, and black white. 



191 

To-morrow a new scene of things may open. 

To-morrow morning I found a horse shoe. 

To no more purpose, than it would be to knock one's heels 

against the ground. 
To nourish a viper in one's bosom. 
To nurse up and keep a vice, is a vast charge, 
To outshoot a man in his own bow. 
To overcome pleasure, is the greatest pleasure. 
To pay one in one's own coin. 

To promise and give nothings is a comfort for a fool. 
To punish and not prevent, is to labour at the pump, and 

leave open the leak. 
To put new handles to an old pot. 
To put our sickle into another man's corn. 
To ride post for a pudding. 
To rock the cradle in spectacles. 
To row one way and look another. 
To run the wild goose chace. 
To see a storm is better than to feel it. 
To see may be easy, but to foresee, that is the fine thing. 
To seek a needle in a bottle of hay. 
To seem and not to be, is throwing the shuttle without 

weaving. 
To serve the people, is worse than to serve two masters. 
To set up a sail to every wind * 
To shoot at a pigeon, and kill a crow. 
To sing like a bird called a swine. 
To slit one's nose. 

To spare at a spiggot, and let run out at the bung-hole. 
To speak like a mouse in a cheese. 
To stop two gaps with one bush. 
To strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 
To stroke with one hand, and stab with the other. 



192 

To succeed well, one must have his lucky day. 

To swallow an ox, and be choaked with the tail. 

To swill and drink, is to turn tripe wife and wash guts. 

To take from a soldier ambition, is to take off his spurs. 

To take from the right hand and give to the left. 

To take the wrong sow by the ear. 

To talk without thinking, is to shoot without aiming. 

To throw the helve after the hatchet. 

To throw the house out of the window. 

To throw the stone and hide the hand. 

To thrust one's foot under another man's table* 

To turn cat in pan. 

To twist a rope of sand. 

To wear a horn and not know it, will do one no more 

harm than to eat a fly and not see it. 
To weep excessively for the dead, is to affront the living. 
To whisper proclamations is ridiculous. 
To win the horse or lose the saddle. 
To woo is a pleasure in a young man, but a phrensy in 

an old. 
Too great and sudden changes, though for the better, are 

not easily born. 
Too late to grieve when the chance is past. 
Too much and too little occasions the troubles of mankind. 
Too much asseveration is a good ground of suspicion. 
Too much breaks the bag. 

Too much care may be as bad as downright negligence. 
Too much consulting confounds. 
Too much cordial will destroy. 
Too much familiarity breeds contempt. 
Too much fear cuts a 1 ! the nerves asunder. 
Too much of one thing is good for nothing. 
Too much praise is a burthen. 



1 93 

Too much scratching pains, too much talking plagues. 

Too much spoileth, too little is nothing. 

Touch a galled horse on the back, and he will kick. 

Touch pot, touch penny. 

Trade is the mother of money. 

Travel makes a wise man better, but a fool worse. 

Travellers should correct the vice of one country by the 
virtue of another. 

Tripe broth is better than no porridge. 

Trouble makes every sad accident a double evil, and con- 
tentedness makes it none at all. 

Troubles are the only trials. 

Troy was. 

Troy was not took in a day. 

True blue will never stain. 

True jests breed bad blood. 

True jests do the greatest execution. 

True magnanimity does not consist so much in undertak- 
ing difficult things, as enduring evils. 

True sincerity sends for no witness. 

True valour is fire, bullying is smoak. 

True valour knows as well how to suffer as to act. 

Trust him no further than you can throw him. 

Trust makes way for treachery. 

Trust me, but look to thyself. 

Trust not a great weight to a slender thread. 

Trust not to a broken staff. 

Trust thyself only, and another shall not betray thee. 

Trusting often makes fidelity. 

Truth and honesty have no need of loud protestations. 

Truth and matter of fact have no answers. 

Truth and oil are ever above. 

Truth fears no colours. 



194 

Truth fears no trial. 

Truth finds foes where it should find none* 

Truth hath a good face, but ill clothes. 

Truth hath always a sure bottom. 

Truth is God's daughter. 

Truth is the child of time. 

Truth is truth, in spite of custom's heart. 

Truth lieth deep, and must be fetched up at leisure. 

Truth loves to go naked. 

Truth makes the devil blush. 

Truth may be blamed, but cannot be shamed. 

Truth may sometimes come out of the devil's mouth. 

Truth needs not many words ; but a false tale, a large 
preamble. 

Truth never grows old. 

Truth seeks no corners. 

Truth will be uppermost one time or other. 

Truth will sometimes break out unlooked for. 

Truth's best ornament is nakedness. 

Try whether the ice will bear, before thou venturest up- 
on it. 

Try to tame a mad horse, but knock him not at head. 

'Twas fear that first put on arms. 

*Twas got out of the fire. 

'Twas surely the devil that taught women to dance, and 
asses to bray. 

'Twere better my enemy envy me, than I him. 

Two anons and a by and by, are an hour and a half. 

Two cunning knaves need no broker. 

Two daughters and a back door, are three arrant thieves, 

Two dogs fight for a bone, and a third runs away with it. 

Two dry sticks will kindle a green one. 

Two eyes may see more than one. 



195 

Two faces under one hood. 

Two fools in a house are too many by a couple. 

Two good meals make the third a glutton. 

Two hands in a dish, and one in a purse. 

Two heads are better than one; quoth the woman, when 

she had her dog with her to the market. 
Two of a trade seldom agree. 

Two Sir Positives can scarce meet without a skirmish. 
Two sparrows, upon one ear of wheat, cannot agree. 
Two things a man should never be angry at ; what he can 

help, and what he cannot help 
Two to one in all things against the angry man. 
Two to one is odds at foot-ball. 
Two whores in a house will never agree. 
'T would make a dog break his halter. 
'Twould make even a fly laugh. 
'T would make one scratch, where it doth not itch. 

U 

Ulcers cannot be cured, that are concealed. 

Unadvised vows are an offence to God. 

Unbidden guests know not where to sit down. 

Under the blanket, the black one is as good as the white. 

Under the flowers are thorns. 

Under the hands of unluckly persons, opportunities wax old; 

Unexpected kindnesses or injuries make great impression. 

Unexperienced men think all things easy. 

Unjust gains may be sweet in the mouth, but will be 

bitter in the belly. 
Unkindness has no remedy at law. 
Unknown, unkissed. 

Unmannerly a little, is better than troublesome a great deal* 

R 3 



196 

Unpleasing errors are never so welcome as pleasing false* 

hoods. 
Unreasonable silence is folly. 
Unseasonable kindness gets no thanks. 
Upbraiding turns a benefit into an injury. 
Use legs, and have legs. 
Use makes perfection. 
Use pastime, so as not to lose time; 
Use the means, and trust to God for the blessing. 
Ugly women, finely dress'd, are the uglier for it» 

V 

Vain-glory blossoms, but never bears. 

Valour is brutish without discretion. 

Valour would fight, but discretion would run away. 

Vanity will prove vexation. 

Varnishing hides a crack. 

Venture a small fish to catch a great one. 

Venture a small fish to catch a gudgeon. 

Venture not all in one bottom. 

Venture thy opinion, but not thyself, for thy opinion. 

Vexation is rather taken than given. 

Vice is abominable, when it preaches up virtue. 

Vice is its own punishment, and sometimes its own cure. 

Vice lives always displeased. 

Vice makes virtue shine. 

Vice must never plead prescription. 

Vice often rides triumphant in virtue's chariot. 

Vice ruleth, where gold reigneth. 

Vice would be frightful, if it did not wear a mask. 

Vices are learned without a Master. 

Vicious Men overvalue vanity ; and undervalue vexation. 

Virtue and happiness are but two names for the same thing. 



197 

Virtue and happiness are mother and daughter. 

Virtue and vice divide the world; but vice has got the 

greater share. 
Virtue brings honour, and honour vanity. 
Virtue carrieth a reward with it ; and so doth vice with 

a vengeance. 
Virtue dwells not in the tongue, but in the heart. 
Virtue hath few Platonick lovers. 
Virtue hath such charms, that even the vicious inwardly 

reverence it. 
Virtue is a man's both guard and glory. 
Virtue is built upon itself. 

Virtue is despised, if it be seen in a thread-bare cloak. 
Virtue is more persecuted by the wicked, Uian encouraged 

by the good. 
Virtue is not secure against envy. 

Virtue is of noble birth ; but riches take the wall of her. 
Virtue is of worth, by itself alone ; a. id so is not birth. 
Virtue is prais'd by all ; but practised by few. 
Virtue is seldom followed gratis. 
Virtue is the beauty of the soul 

Virtue is the only ground for friendship to be built upon. 
Virtue is the only true nobility. 
Virtue is tied to no degrees of men. 
Virtue itself without good manners, is laughed at. 
Virtue may be overclouded a while, but 'twill shine at 

the last. 
Virtue merits veneration, wherever she appears. 
Virtue respects not blood and alliance. 
Virtue scorns a he for its defence. 
Virtue would not go far, if a little vanity walked not 

with it. 
Virtue's paths are first rugged then pleasant. 

R 2 



44 198 

Virtues all agree, but vices fight one another: 
Vows made in storms are forgot in calms. 

W 

Want of care does us more damage than want of know- 
ledge. 
Wanton kitlings may make sober old cats. 
War, hunting, and love, have a thousand troubles for their 

pleasure. 
War is death's feast. 

War makes thieves, and peace hangs them. 
War must not be waged by men asleep. 
Ware shins, quoth Grub, when he flung a louse in the fire. 
Wary is the word. 
Wasps haunt the honey-pot. 
Waste makes want. 

Water breeds frogs in the belly ; but wine kills worms. 
We are all Adam's children ; but silk makes the difference. 
We are apt to believe what we wish for. 
We are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed. 
We are bound to be honest, but not to be rich. 
We are ever young enough to sin, never old enough to 

repent. 
We are more mindful of injuries than benefits. 
We are never so happy, or unfortunate, as we think ou r " 

selves 
We are not so sensible of. the greatest health, as of the 

least sickness. 
We bachelors grin, but you marred men laugh till your 

hearts ache- 
We begin not to live, til] we a*e fit to die. 
We can live wi out our friend*, bat not without our 

neighbours. 



199 

We cany our greatest enemies within us. 

We carry our neighbuur's failings in sight, we throw our 

own crimes over our own shoulders. 
We do nothing, but in the presence of two great witnesses ; 

God, and our own conscience. 
We desire but one feather out of your goose. 
We easily forget our faults, when no body knows them, 
We hate delay, yet it makes us wise. 
We have all forgot more than we remember. 
We hounds kill'd the hare, quoth the lap-dog. 
We know not which stone the scorpions lurk under. 
We 11 bark ourselves ere we'll buy dogs so dear. 
We may be good in every condition. 
We may see a prince, but not search him, 
We must live by the quick, and not by the dead. 
We must not lie down, and cry, God help us. 
We must not look for a golden life in an iron age. 
We never know the worth of water, till the well is dry. 
We perfectly know what is good, and what is evil, and 

may be as certain in morals as in mathematics. 
We see not what is in the wallet behind. 
We seldom find out that we are flattered. 
We shall lie ail alike in our graves. 
We shall never have friends, if we expect to find them 

without fault. 
We should play to live, not live to play. 
We should publish our joys, and conceals our griefs. 
Weak men and cowards are generally wily. 
Weak things united, become strong. 
Wealth and content do not always live together. 
Wealth and honour can never cure a wounded conscience. 
Wealth is best known by want. 
Wealth wants not for worship. 



200 

Weeds are apt to grow faster than good herbs. 

Weeds want no sowing. 

Weigh right and sell dear 

Weight, measure, and tale, take away strife. 

Welcome death, quoth the rat, when the trap fell. 

Welcome is the best cheer. 

Welcome mischief, if thou comest alone. 

Well lathered is half shaven. 

Well may he stumble, that chuses a stony way. 

Well might the cat wink, when both her eyes were out. 

What a day may bring, a day may take away. 

What a dust have I raised ! quoth the fly upon the coach. 

What a great deal of good great men might do ! 

What ! are you afraid of him that died last year ? 

What avails it me, to draw one foot out of the mire, and 

stick the other in ? 
What belongs to the publick, is nobody's property. 
What cannot be altered, must be borne, not blamed. 
What children hear at home soon flies abroad. 
What comes too late is as nothing, 
What cometh by kind costeth nothing. 
What costs little is less esteemed. 
What does a man think of when Le thinks of nothing? 

Answ. A great man's promise. 
Whatever is given to the poor, is laid out of the reach of 

fortune. 
Whatever wants, pleasure and vanity must be had. 
W hatever v. e cannot help, is cur n isiortune, notour fault. 
What good can it do an ass to be called a lion ? 
Wt at has been, may be 

W hat have 1 to do with Bradshaws wind-mill? 
What is gotten over the Devil's back, is spent under hi? 

belly. 



201 

What is a great estate good for, if it brings melancholy ? 

What is a work-man without tools ? 

W 7 hat is done by night appears by day. 

What ! is it nothing, but up and ride ? 

What is one pound of butter among a kennel of hounds ? 

What is the use of patience, if we cannot find it when we 

want it ? 
What may be done at any time, will be done at no time. 
What serves dirt for, if it do not stink ? 
What should a cow do with a nutmeg ? 
What pretty things men will make for money, quoth the 

old woman, when she saw a monkey. 
What reason and endeavour cannot bring about, often? 

time will. 
What is a crab in a cow's mouth ? 
What is a gentleman but his pleasure ? 
What is a sun-dial in the shade good for ? 
What is an army without a general ? 
What is an estate good for, if it cannot buy content ? 
What is freer than gift ? 

Wha t is good in the mouth, may be bad in the maw. 
What is mine is my own, what is my brother's is his 

and mine. 
What is my turn to-day may be thine to-morrow. 
What is none of your profit need be none of your peril. 
What is sowed in youth will be reaped in age. 
Whatsoever time does it undoes. 

What the better is the house for a sluggard's rising early P 
What the eye sees need not to be guessed at. 
What the eye sees not the heart rues not. 
What the good wife spares the cat eats. 
W T hat the heart thinketh, the tongue speaketh. 
What they lose in the hundred they gain in the county. 



202 

What tutor shall we find for a child of sixty years old ? 

What ! would he be greater than Sir John ? 

What would you have ? a buttered faggot ? 

What would you have ? a calf with a white face ? 

What ! would you have an ass chop iogick ? 

Wheat is not to be gathered in the blade but in the ear. 

When a blind man flourisheth the ancient, woe be unto 

those that follow him. 
When a fool hath bethought himself, the market's over. 
When a fox preaches beware the geese 
When a goose dances, and a fool versifies, there is sport. 
When a man grows angry his reason rides out. 
When a man hath once done blushing, he commenceth a, 

hardened sinner. 
When a man is not liked, whatever he doth is amiss. 
When a man is set upon his own ruin, it is in vain to 

reason with him. 
When a man repeats a promise again and again, he means 

to fail you. 
When a man's coat is thread-bare, it is an easy thing to 

pick a hole in it. 
When a mans house is on fire it is time to break off chess. 
When a pig is given you, run presently for a string to lead 

it home. 
When a proud man hears another praised, he thinks him- 
self injured. 
When a thing is done advice comes too late. 
When a tree is once a falling every one cries down with it. 
When all fruit fails, welcome haws. 
When all is gone, repentance comes too late. 
When an ass climbeth a ladder, you may find wisdom in 

women. 



203 

When an ass is anions a parcel of monkeys, they all make 

faces at him 
When an old man will not drink, you may safely promise 

him a visit in the next world. 
When Dover and Calais meet. 

When every one gets his own, you will get the gallows. 
When flatterers meet, the devil goes to dinner. 
When fortune fawneth, she biteth ; when she is angry, 

she woundeth. 
When fortune smiles embrace her. 
When God wills, all winds brings rain. 
When gold speaks you may even hold your tongue. 
When he should work, every finger is a thumb. 
When honour grew mercenary, money grew honourable. 
When I am dead, make me a caudle. 
When I had thatched his house, he would have hurled me 

from the roof. 
When I wanted an honest man, I never thought to go to 

court for him. 
When many strike on an anvil, they must observe order. 
When mastiffs fight, little curs will bark. 
When necessity comes in turn modesty out. 
When passion entereth at the fore-gate, wisdom goeth 

out of the postern. 
When poverty co>nes in at the door, love creeps out at 

the window. 
When pride is on the sadd-e, shame is on the crupper. 
When pride rides, shame lacqueys. 
When sharpers prey upon one another, there is no game 

abroad. 
When sorrow is asleep, wake it not. 
When the barn's full, you may thresh before the door. 
When the belly is full, the bones are at rest* 



204 

When the cat is gone, the mice grow saucy. 

When the christening is over, you may have godfather's 

enough. 
When the daughter is stolen, shut pepper-gate. 
When the demand is a jest, the answer is a scoff. 
When the devil prays, he has a booty in his eye. 
When the devil of contradiction once possesses a man, he 

is hard to be cast out. 
When the devil is a hog, you shall eat bacon. 
When the devil is a vicar, then thou shalt be his clerk. 
When the devil is dead, there is a widow for Humphrey. 
When the dog is beaten out of the room, where will they 

lay their stink ? 
When the dog's dead, all his malice dies with him. 
When the eye sees what it never saw, the heart will think 

what it never thought. 
When the flatterer pipes, then the devil dances. 
When the fox could not reach the grapes, he cried they 

are sour. 
When the frog and mouse would take up the quarrel, the 

kite decided it. 
When the good man is abroad, the good woman's table is 

soon spread 
When the head acheth, all the body feels it. 
When the heart is a fire, some sparks will fly out of the 

mouth. 
When the hop grows high, it must have a pole. 
When the horse is starved, you bring him oats. 
When the house is burnt down, you bring water. 
When the husband drinks to the wife, all would be well ; 

when the wife drinks to the husband, all is well. 
When the husband is fire,, and the wife tow, the devil easi- 
ly sets all in a fla me. 



£05 

When the maid leaves open the door, blame not the cat, 

When the mare hath a bald face, the filley hath a blaze. 

When the master licks the knife, it is bad for the man. 

When the mutton is going, it is good to take a slice. 

When the next house is on fire, it is higli time to look to 
thy own. 

When the old dog barks he giveth counsel. 

When the pig is proffered, hold up the poke. 

When the pot boils over it cooleth itself. 

When the pirate prays, there is great danger. 

When the rights of hospitality are invaded, revenge is al- 
most allowable. 

When the soul is embittered nothing is sweet. 

When the steed is stole you shut the stable door. 

When the sun is highest he casts the least shadow. 

When the sun shines nobody minds it, but when it is 
eclipsed all consider him. 

When the wares are gone shut up the shop windows. 

When the wine is in the wit is out. 

When the wine is run out you would stop the leak. 

When there is but little bread cut first if you can. 

When thou art at sea, sail ; when at land, settle. 

When thou dancest, take heed whom thou takest by the 
hand. 

When two knaves deal the devil drives the bargain. 

When war beginneth, hell openeth. 

When ware is liked it is half sold. 

"When we are pleased ourselves we begin to please others. 

When we commend good actions we make them in some 
measure our own. 

When we do ill the devil tempteth us, when we do no- 
thing, we tempt him. 

s 



206 

When we first see the light, we weep; and when we leave 

it, we groan. 
When wine sink swords swim. 

When you are good to others you are best to yourself. 
When you are in the way you ask for the path. 
When you are in vicious company you are among your 

enemies. 
When you die your trumpeter will be buried. 
When you give others ill words, you rail at yourself. 
When you have counted your cards, you will find you 

have little left. 
When you have given me roast meat you beat me with 

the spit. 
When you have no observers be afraid of yourself. 
When you have made me shuffle the cards then truly you 

will not play. 
When you obey your superior you instruct your inferior. 
When your name is up you may lie abed till noon. 
Where a chest lies open a reputed honest man may sin. 
Where bad is the best, bad must be the choice. 
Where bees are there is honey. 
Where content is there is a feast. 
Where curiosity is not the purveyor, detraction will soon 

be starved. 
Where dainties are not to be had, be content with com- 
mon fare. 
Were drums speak out, laws hold their tongues. 
Were embroidery is wanting, perhaps a patched coat may 

serve. 
Wherever we meet misery, we owe pity. 
Wherever an ass falleth, there will he never fall again. 
Wherever you go, and business be cross, you have a league 

of bad way. 



207 

Where every one fleeceth the sheep go naked. 

Where God hath his church, the devi! hath his chapel. 

Where it is weakest there the thread breaketh. 

Where knaves fall out, honest men come by their own. 

Where men are kindly used they will resort 

Where necessity pinches, boldness is prudence. 

Where no fault is there needs no punishment. 

Where none else will, the devil himself must bear the 
cross. 

Where nothing is, nothing can be had. 

Where one door is shut, another is open. 

Where passion is high, there reason is low. 

Where shall a man have a worse friend than he brings 
from home ? 

Where shall the ox go but he must labour ? 

Where something is found there look again. 

Wheresoever we live well, that is our country. 

Wheresoever you see your kindred, make much of your 
friends. 

Where the bee sucks honey the spider sucks poison. 

Where the dam leaps over the kid follows. 

Where the deer is slain there will some of his blood lie. 

Where the great turk's horse treads grass never grows. 

Where the heart is past hope, the face is past shame. 

Where the hedge is lowest men leap over. 

Where the knot is loose the string slippeth. 

Where the river is deepest it runneth quietest. 

Where the sea goes there let the sands go. 

Where the will is ready the feet are light. 

Where there are boots ready spurs may be wanting. 

Where there are many laws there are many enormities. 

What there are pride and covetousness in a man, two de- 
vils fight. 

s 2 



Where there are reeds there is water. 

Where there is much love there is much mistake. 

Where there is no love all are faults. 

Where there is nothing to be had, even the king of France 

must lose his right » 
Where two faithful friends meet, God makes up the third. 
Where two fools meet the bargain goes off. 
Where vain-glory reigns, folly is prime counsellor. 
Where villainy goes before vengeance follows after. 
Where water is shallow no boat will ride. 
Where we least think there goes the hare away. 
Where women are, and geese, there wants no gagling. 
Where you see a jester a fool is not far off. 
Wherries must not put out to sea. 
Whether you boil or bake snow, you can have but water 

of it 
While the grass grows the steed starves. 
While there is life there is hope. 
While you trust to the dog the wolf slips into the sheep 

fold. 
Whilst it thunders the thief turns honest. 
White walls are fool's writing paper. 
Who always buys and sells feels not what he spends* 
Who asks after the pedigree of a swine he is to kill ? 
Who bulls the cow must keep the calf. 
Who can help sickness, quoth the drunken wife, when 

she fell into the gutter ? 
Who would keep a cow, when he may have a quart of 

milk for a penny ? 
Who draws his sword against his prince, must throw away 

his scabbard, 
Who draws others into ill courses is the devil's factor. 
Who eats and leaves has another meal good. 



goo 

Who eats his dinner alone, must saddle his horse. 

Who ever repented of a good action ? 

Who ever suffered for not speaking ill of others ? 

Who hath horns in his bosom, let him not put them on 

his forehead. 
Who hath a scold hath sorrow to his sops. 
Who keep company with the wolf, will learn to howl. 
Who knows but that my private watch may go truer than 

the town-clock ? 
Who knows who may keep sheep another day ? 
Who loseth his due getteth no thanks. 
Who marrieth for love without money, hath merry nights 

and sorry days. 
Who more busy than they that have least to do ? 
Who more ready to call her neighbour scold, than the 

greatest scold in all the street ? 
Who never climbed high never fell low. 
Who perisheth in needless dangers is the devil's martyi. 
Who removeth land- mark stones, bruiseth his fingers. 
Who robs a Cambridge-scholar, robs twenty. 
Who shall bell the cat ? 
Who shall keep the keepers ? 
Wuo so bold as blind Baynard ? 

Who spends before he thrives, will beg before he thinks. 
Who thinks a woman hath no merit, but her money, de* 

serve , to be made a cuckold. 
Who would desire to spit blood, though into a golden bason? 
Wholesome and poisonous herbs grow in the same garden* 
Whom God loves his house is savoury to him. 
Wliom great men wrong, thev hate. 
Whores affect not you, but your money. 
Whoso doth no evil, is apt to suspect none. 
Whoso is apt to believe, shall frequently repent it. 

s 3 



210 

Whoso is not dutiful to a good mother, shall be punished 
by an ill step-mother. 

Whoso is wicked in the country, will be so also in town. 

Whoso lai keth a stock, his gain is not worth a chip. 

Whosoever entertains you with the faults of others, de- 
serves to serve you in the same kind. 

Whosoever engages in many pursuits, rarely succeeds in 
one. 

Whosoever is king, thou shalt be his man. 

Whosoever values not his own Life, may be master of 
another's. 

Why should a rich man steal ? 

Wicked men, like mad-men, have sometimes their lucid 
intervals. 

Wickedness is its own punishment, and many times its 
own cure. 

Wickedness with beauty is the devil's hook baited. 

Widows are always rich. 

Wife and children are bills of charges. 

W r ife and children are hostages given to fortune. 

W T ind and weather, do your utmost. 

-Wine hath drowned more men than the sea. 

Wine in the hogshead quencheth no thrist. 

Wine is a turn-coat; first a friend, and then an enemy. 

Wine is the vintner's, but the goodness of it the drawer's. 

Wine neither keeps secrets, nor fulfils promises. 

W^ine shews what a man is. 

Wine that costeth nothing, is digested before it be drank. 

W T ine turns a man inside outwards. 

Wine washeth off the dawb. 

Winter draws out what summer laid in. 

Wilful faults have no excuse, and deserve no pardon. 

Wilful waste brings wofui want. 



211 

Will any, but an Irishman, hang a wooden kettle over 
thefire? 

Will is the cause of woe. 

Will will have its will, though will woe win. 

Will without reason is blind, and against reason is mad. 

Willing minds take up with poor exercises. 

Willows are weak, yet they bind other wood. 

Wisdom don't always speak in Greek and Latin. 

Wisdom goes not always by years. 

Wisdom in a poor man is a diamond set in lead. 

Wisdom in perfection is not for mortals. 

Wisdom is a good purchase, though we pay dear for it- 
Wisdom is more to be envied than riches. 

Wisdom is neither inheritance nor legacy . 

Wisdom itself is not ashamed to be sprightly and gay upon 
occasion. 

Wisdom rises upon the ruins of folly. 

Wisdom sometimes walks in clouted shoes. 

Wisdom without innocence is knavery, innocence with- 
out wisdom is folly. 

Wise and good is better than rich and great. 

Wise and good men invented the laws, but fools and the 
wicked put them upon it. 

Wise men care not for what they cannot have. 

Wise men have but few of their society. 

Wise men have reason, other men wit. 

Wise men in the world are like timber-trees in a hedge, 
here and there one. 

Wise men learn by other men's harms, fools by their own. 

Wise men learn something of fools, but fools nothing of 
wise men. 

Wise men make proverbs, and fools repeat them. 

Wise men may chance to be caught. 



212 

Wise men may look ridiculous in the company of fools. 

Wise men may well be mistaken in futures. 

W T it and wisdom are like the seven stars, seldom seen to- 
gether. 

Wit ill applied is a dangerous weapon. 

Wit is to be met with every where, but wisdom is a rarity. 

Wit may be bought too dear. 

Wit sometimes helps us to play the fool with more confi- 
dence. 

Wit without judgment is a weary thing to the company. 

Wit without wisdom, cuts other men's meat and its own 
fingers. 

With a fool and a knave there is no conclusion. 

Wirh an honest and a good man, business is soon ended. 

With as good a will as ever I came from school. 

With common friends, go with bridle in hand. 

With cost, good pottage may be made out of a leg of a 
joint stool. 

With foxes we must play the fox. 

Withhold not thy money, where there is need, and 
waste it not where there is none 

Witty coxcombs are the most troublesome of all coxcombs. 

Wives must have their wills, while they live ; because they 
make none, when they die. 

Woe to that house where there is no chiding. 

Wolves may lose their teeth, but not their nature. 

Women and wine make men out of their wits 

Women are better sold for sorrow, than bought for re- 
pentance. 

Women commend a modest man but like him not. 

Women conceal all that they know not. 

Women grown bad are worse than men, because the 
corruption of the best turns worst. 



213 

Women have tears of dissimulation, as well as sorrow. 

WoiTien ; priests and poultry have never enough. 

Women's work is never done. 

Wonder is the daughter of ignorance. 

Wood half-coal is easily kindled. 

Words are but wind, but seeing is believing. 

Words are for women, actions for men. 

Words shew the wit of a man, but actions his meaning. 

Work breaks an idle fellow's legs, arms and back. 

Worth begets in base minds envy, but in brave souls e- 

mulation. 
Worth hath been under-rated, ever since wealth hath been 

over- valued. 
Worth without wealth is a good servant out of place. 
Would I were in that country where they break men's 

arms that talk of work. 
Would, no, I thank you, had never been made. 
Would you be thanked for feeding your own swine ? 
Would you cut down Falkland- wood with a penknife ? 
Would you dye a raven black ? 
Would you draw oil out of sand ? 
^Would you eat finer bread than is made of wheat, or wear 

finer cloth than is made of wool ? 
Would you have potatoes grow by the pot-side ? 
Would you know secrets? look for them in grief or pla- 

sure. 
Would you thatch your house with pancakes ? 
Would you treat your horse with a peck of oysters ? 
Would you wipe with the water and wash with the towel ? 
Wounds may heal, but not those that are made by ill 

words. 
Wranglers are never in the wrong. 
Wranglers never want words though they may matter. 



214 

Wren's battles are as eagerly fought as crane's are. 

Wrinkled purses make wrinkled faces. 

Write with the learned,, but speak with the vulgar. 

Y 

Yelping curs may anger mastiffs at last. 

You and he p — -s both in a quill. 

You and I draw both in the same yoke. 

You are a fine fellow to fetch the devil a priest. 

You are a man among the geese, when the gander is away. 

You are a pretty fellow to ride a goose a gallop. 

You are a sweet nut, if you were well crackt. 

You are an honest man, and I am your uncle, and thats 5 

two lies. 
You are afraid of the dog you never saw. 
You are come of good blood, and so is goose-pudding. 
You are in the highway to Needham. 
You are in the roast-meat, while we are in the sod. 
You are like a cuckoo, you have but one song. 
You are like a hog, never good while living. 
You are like fig-tree fuel, much smoke and little fire. 
You are like foul weather, you come unsent for. 
You are never pleased, full nor fasting. 
You are none of the Hastings nor Hotspurs. 
You are not good, if you are so only for the sake of praise. 
You are not yet a roasting, and yet you would have sops in 

the pan 
You are one of those lawyers that never heard of Littleton. 
You are so cunning, you know not what weather it is, 

when it rains. 
You are so tender, you dare not be hanged for fear of 

galling your neck. 
You are very free of another mans pottagei 



215 

You ask an elm-tree for pears. 

You begin well in nothing, except you end well. 

You break my head then give me a plaister. 

You bring a bit of wire and take away a bar. 

You bring owls to Athens. 

You cackle often but never lay an egg. 

You came a day after the fair. 

You came as seasonably as snow in summer. 

You came for wool but shall return shorn yoursel£ 

You can have no more of a cat than a skin. 

You can never make a good shaft of a pig's tail. 

You can never speech courage into a coward. 

You cannot escape away from yourself. 

You cannot hide an eel in her sack. 

You cannot judge of a man till you know his whole store3** 

You cannot make a hunting-horn of a fox's-tail. 

You cannot make velvet of a sow's ear 

You cannot say mass but at your own altar. 

You cannot drive a wind-mill with a pair of bellows. 

You cannot eat your cake and have it too. 

You cannot fare well but you must cry roast-meat. 

You cannot judge of the horse by the harness. 

You cannot know wine by the cask. 

You cannot sell the cow and have her milk too. 

You carry fire in one hand and water in the other. 

You cast your net but nothing was caught. 

You contend about a goat's beard or lock of wool. 

You converse daily with the devil, and pretend to be 

frighted with a mouse. 
You could make broth, but you have no beef. 
You could spy trouble if your eyes were out. 
You cry, hem ! where there is no echo. 
You cut large thongs out of another's hide. 



216 

You dare as well put out one of the devil's teeth. 

You dare as well take a bear by the tooth. 

You dig your grave with your teeth. 

You do but water a dead stake. 

You drink out of the broad end of the funnel, and hold 

the little one to me. 
You drink vinegar when you have wine at your elbow. 
You eat up that grass, which I meant to make hay of. 
You find a gap, where the hedge is whole. 
You find fault with a fat goose. 
You fish fair, and catch a frog. 
You gazed at the moon and fell in the gutter. 
You give me Colloquintida for Herb- John. 
You give notable counsel, but he is a fool that takes it. 
You go to a goat to buy wool. 
You gorge down wine as a swine swills whey. 
You had rather go to mill than to mass. 
You have a barn for all grain. 

You have a little wit, and it does you good sometimes. 
You have a tangled skain of it, to wind off. 
You have always a ready mouth for a ripe cherry. 
You have brought j^our hogs to a fair market. 
You have done your day's work, you may unyoke. 
You have fouled yourself, and now would have me clean 

you. 
You have found a colt's nest, and laugh at the eggs. 
You have found what was never lost. 
You have good manners, but never carry them about you . 
You have lost your own stomach, and found a dog's. 
You have made a hand of it like a foot. 
You have no goats, and yet you sell kids. 
You have no need to borrow confidence. 
You have not lived all your time upon nuts. 



217 

You have taken a bite out of your own arm. 
■ You hide yourself in a net and think nobody sees you , 

You keep Easter when I keep Lent. 

You know not how to sew and yet you would be cutting out. 

You know not what ladle your dish may come under. 

You lay on your butter as with a trowel. 

You licked not your lips since you lied last. 
-You look as though you would make the crow a pudding ere 
long . 

You look for hot water under the ice. 

You look like a runner, quoth the devil to the crab. 

You look like the devil in day-light. 

You make a muck-hill on my trencher, quoth the bride. 

You make a great purchase, when you relieve the necessitous 

You make as good music as a wheel- barrow. 

You may be a wise man, and yet not know how to make 
a watch. 

You may beat the devil into your wife, but you would ne- 
ver bang him out again. 

You may be godly, but you would never be cleanly. 

You may believe anything that is good of a grateful man. 

You may dance on the ropes without reading Euclid. 

You may follow him long ere a shilling drop from him. 

You may gape long enough ere a bird fly into your mouth. 

You may give him good advice, but who can give him 
wit to take it ? 

You may have a good memory but have a confounded 
judgment. 

You may have worse offers before May-day. 

You may know by a handful the whole sack. 

You may keep wool till it is dirt, and flax till it is silk. 

You may know by a penny how a shilling spends. 
. You may know by the market-folks, how the market goes* 



218 

You may love your neighbour and yet not hold his stirrup. 
You may offer a bribe without fear of having your throat cut. 
You may pay for your schooling more than your learning 

is worth. 
You may row your heart out, if the wind and tide set a* 

gainst you. 
You may truss up all his wit in an egg-shell. 
You may wink and choose. 

You measure every man's honesty by your own. 
You meet a danger half-way. 

You must ask your neighbours if you shall live in peace. 
You must be content sometimes with rough roads. 
You must be content to taste your own broth. 
You must look where it is not as well as where it is. 
You must not cut and deal too. 
You must not expect sweet from a dunghill, nor honour 

from a clown. 
You must not hope to reap wheat where you sowed none. 
You must plough with such oxen as you have. 
You must sell as markets go. 
You must spoil before you spin well. 
You need not get a golden pen to write upon dirt. 
You need not go to the iron-mills every time you lack 

a tacknail. 
You need not marry ; you have troubles enough without it. 
You never do it without overdoing it. 
You ought to untie that knot which you knit yourself. 
You owed me a sheep but paid me a lamb. 
You plead after sentence given. 
You plough with an ox that will not miss a furrow. 
You pour water into a sieve. 
You pretend the public but intend yourself. 
You pretend to be a visitor but are really a spy. 



219 

You put the clown above the gentleman. 

You run like teague before your errand. 

You saddle to-day and ride out to-morrow. 

You saw out your tree before you cut it down. 

You scatter meal and gather ashes. 

You scorn it as a dog does tripe. 

You seek the needle where you never stuck it. 

You set saffron and there came up wolfs-bane. 

You sewed it with a red hot needle and a burning thread. 

You shall have the whetstone. 

You shall never beat the fly from the candle, though she 

burn for it. 
You shall never clap a padlock upon my tongue. 
You shew bread in one hand and a stone in the other. 
You should ask the world's leave before you commend 

yourself. 
You shut your budget before it is full. 
You sift night and day and get nothing but bran. 
You sit upon thorns. 
You smile and bite. 
You spoil a good dish with ill sauce. 
You starve in a cook's shop. 
You take every bush for a bug-bear. 
You take me up before I am down. 
You take more care of your shoe than your foot. 
You talk of last year's snow. 
You tell your money over a gridiron. 
You to the cabbage and I to the beef. 
You trust a great weight to a slender thread. 
You were begot a nutting, you speak in clusters. 
You were born when wit was scarce. 
You were bred in brazen-nose college. 
You were put out of the oven for nipping of pies. 

T 2 



220 

You will neither dance nor hold the candle. 

You will never have a friend if you must have one with- 
out failings. 

You will never repent of being patient and sober. 

You would be little for God if the devil were dead. 

You would find knots in a bulrush. 

You would wash a blackmoor white. 

You will be good when your goose p— eth. 

You will beguile none but those that trust you. 

You will bring a noble to nine-pence. 

You will dance at the end of a rope without teaching. 

You will get the cat with nine tails. 

You will have as much courtesy at Billinsgate. 

You will keep it no longer than you can a cat in a wheel- 
barrow. 

You will know an idle fellow if you but see him at dinner. 

You will make an end of your whistle, though the cart 
overthrow for it. 

You will never be mad, you are of so many minds. 

You will never be master of gold enough to break your 
back. 

You will never get your revenge of a rich man. 

You will not believe a man is dead, till you see his brains 
out. 

You will not believe him bald, till you see his brains. 

You will rather be begged, than hanged for your wit. 

You will ride a horse that was foaled of an acorn. 

You will scratch a beggar before you die. 

Young cocks love no coops. 

Young is the goose that will not eat oats. 

Young men are made wise, old men become so. 

Young men may die, old men must. 

Young men should be learners, when old men are actors. 



221 

Young men think old men fools ; but old men know the 

young are so. 
Young prodigal in a coach will be old beggar bare-foot 
Your belly will never let your back be warm. 
Your bread is buttered on both sides. 
Your cake is dough. 

Your dirty shoes are not welcome in my parlour. 
Your egg is ready roasted to your hand. 
Your father's honour is to you but a second-hand honour. 
Your great admirers are mostly but silly fellows. 
Your head is so hot that your brains bubble over. 
Your horns hang in your eyes. 
Your key fits not that lock. 
Your last pig is farrowed. 
Your main fault is, you are good for nothing. 
Your mamma's milk is scarce out of your nose yet. 
Your mind is upon chacing of mice. 
Your mouth hath beguiled your hands. 
Your nut is ready crackt for you. 
Your old brass will bring you a new pan. 
Your purse opened not when it was paid, for. 
Your tongue has got the start of your wit. 
Your tongue is made of very loose leather. 
Your trumpeter is dead, and so you sound yourself. 
Your wind-mill is dwindled into a nut-cracker. 
Your wits are gone a wool-gathering. 
Youth and white paper take any impression. 



Zeal is by means the same with fury and rage. 
Zeal is fit only for wise men, but is found mostly in fools; 
Zeal without knowledge is fire without light. 
Zeal without prudence is phrensy. 
Zeal, when it is a virtue, is a dangerous one. 

T 3 



HE that goes out with often loss, 
Comes home at last by weeping cross. 
If you would live for ever, 
You must wash the milk off your liver. 
Who spends more than he should, 
Shall not have to spend when he would. 
When you are anvil, hold you still, 
When you are hammer, strike your fill. 
My son is my son till he have got him a wife, 
But my daughter's my daughter all the days of her life. 
If a man but knew what would be dear, 
He need be a merchant but only one year. 
Children and chicken 
Must be always picking. 
Eat at pleasure, 
Drink in measure. 
Early to bed, and early to rise, 
Will make a man healthy, wealthy and wise- 
Find you without excuse, 
And find a hare without a muse. 
Enough's as good as a feast 
To one that's not a beast. 
Truth may be blamed, 
But cannot be shamed. 
If you trust before you try, 
You may repent before you die. 
If youth knew what age would crave, 
It would both get and save. 
If things were to be done twice^ 
All would be wise. 
He that will steal a pin 
Will steal a better thing. 



223 



He must needs swim, 

That is held up by the chin. 

To borrow upon usury 

Bringeth on beggary. 

Time fleeth away 

Without delay. 

Trash and trumpery 

Is the way to beggary. 

Spend, 

And God will send. 

Good take heed 

Doth surely speed. 

He that would thrive 

Must rise by five ; 

He that hath thriven 

May lie till seven. 

Two cats and one mouse, 

Two wives in one house, 

Two dogs at one bone, 

Can never agree in one. 

Wars 

Bring scars. 

Wide will wear, 

But narrow will tear. 

If wishes would bide, 

Beggars would ride. 

Help hands, 

For I have no lands. 

Harm watch, 

Harm catch. 

The more you heap, 

The worse you cheap. 



224 

Of saving 

Cometh having. 

A friend in need, 

Is a friend indeed. 

One God, no more, 

But friends good store. 

Not God above 

Gets all men's love. 

What God will 

No frost can kill. 

Early sow, 

Early mow. 

The longer east, 

The longer west. 

Want makes strife 

Between the good-man and his wife* 

In the forehead and the eye, 

The lecture of the mind doth lie. 

As a man is friended, 

So the law is ended. 

There's not so bad a Jill, 

But there's as bad a Will. 

The frog 

Cannot out of her bog. 

Giving much to the poor 

Increaseth a man's store. 

A belly full of gluttony 

Will never study willingly. 

Speak what you will, 

An ill man will turn it ill. 

What soberness conceals. 

Drunkenness reveals. 



225 

Soon crooks the tree 

That good gambrel would be. 

Fair in the cradle, 

And foul in the saddle. 

Common fame 

Is mostly to blame. 

As the fool thinks, 

So the bell clinks. 

Much bruit, 

Little fruit. 

Money's better 

Than my lord's letter. 

What cannot be cured, 

Must be endured. 

Nothing is a man's truly, 

But what he came by duly, 

April showers 

Bring May flowers. 

A March whisker, 

Is never a good fisher. 

They that have no other meat 

Bread and butter are glad to eat. 

Who buys, 

Had need of an hundred eyes ; 

But one's enough 

To him that sells the stuff. 

Fain would the cat fish eat, 

But she is loth her feet to wet. 

When the cat is away 

The mice may play. 

Be the day never so long, 

At length cometh even-song. 



226 

March borrows of April 

Three days, and they be ill. 

April borrows of March again, 

Three days of wind and rain. 

The first day of April, 

You may send a fool whither you will. 

The third day of April, 

Comes in the cuckoo and nightingale. 

March winds and May sun, 

Make clothes white, and maids dun. 

A winter's thunder 

Is a summer's wonder. 

A cherry year, 

A merry year, 

A plumb year, 

A dumb year. 

As the day lengthens 

So the cold strengthens. 

If you would a good hedge have, 

Carry the leaves to the grave. 

If St. Paul be fair and clear, 

Then betides a happy year ; 

If the wind do blow aloft, 

Then of wars we shall hear full oft ; 

If the clouds make dark the sky, 

Great store of people then will die ; 

If there be either snow or rain, 

Then will be dear all sorts of grain. 

Sow beans in the mud, 

And they will grow like wood. 

A kindly good Janiveer 

Freezeth the pot by the feere» 



227 

To rip up old sores, 

And cast up all scores. 

As your wedding ring wears, 

You will wear of your cares. 

If grass look green in Janiveer, 

'Twill look the worser all the year. 

March in Janiveer, 

Janiveer in March I fear. 

Who in Janiveer sows oats, 

Gets gold and groats ; 

Who sows in May 

Gets little that way. 

February fill dike, 

Be it black or be it white ; 

But if it be white, 

It is the better to like. 

All the months in the year 

Curse a fair Februeer. 

You should upon Candlemas day 

Throw candle and candlestick away. 

He that will not when he may, 

When he will he shall have nay. 

Wishers and woulders 

Are never good house-holders. 

The difference is very wide 

That the sheets will not decide. 

Farewell frost, 

Nothing got nor nothing lost. 

That is a lie with a latchet, 

All the dogs in the town cannot match it. 

You may as soon 

Make a cloak for the moon. 



228 

Much matter 

Of a wooden platter. 

A man of words and not of deeds, 

Is like a garden full of weeds. 

Good weight and measure 

Is heaven's treasure. 

The receiver 

Is as bad as the thiever. 

Before St. Chad, 

Every goose lays both good and bad. 

To the wise 

A word may suffice. 

Words are but wind, 

But blows unkind. 

Words are but sands. 

Its money buys lands, 

In space 

Comes grace. 

Ever spare 

And ever bare. 

Great spenders 

Are bad lenders. 

Though I am bitten, 

I am not all eaten. 

No vice 

Like avarice. 

Who so blind as he 

That will not see ? 

A little pot 

Is soon hot. 

Store 

Is no sore. 



Essex stiles, 

Kentish miles, 

Norfolk wiles, 

Many men beguiles. 

The postern door 

Makes thief and whore. 

After a delay 

Comes a stay. 

Sure bind, 

Sure find. 

Old young, 

And old long. 

Fill what you will, 

And drink what you fill. 

Patch by patch is good housewifely, 

But patch upon patch plain beggary. 

He that will live in peace and rest. 

Must hear, and see, and speak the best. 

Fair words never break a bone, 

Foul words have broke many a one. 

Like blood, like good, and like age, 

Make the happiest marriage. 

Marry in haste, and repent at leisure, 

It is good to marry late or never. 

When the fern is as high as a spoon, 

You may sleep an hour at noon. 

He that lets his horse drink at every lake, 

And his wife go to every wake ; 

Shall never have a good horse, 

Nor a good wife, which is worse. 

Almost, and hard by, 

Save many a lie. 



230 

An easy fool 

Is a knave's tool. 

A cool May and a windy 

Earn filleth up finely. 

May come early, come late, 

'Twill make the cow to quake. 

An hot May, as I have heard* 

Maketh a fat church-yard. 

Leave not off a clout 

Till May be out. 

A May flood 

Never did good. 

Shear your sheep in May, 

And clear them all away. 

A swarm of bees in May, 

Is worth a load of hay ; 

But a swarm in July, 

Is not worth a fly. 

Be sure of hay 

Till the end of May. 

When April blows his horn, 

It is good for hay and corn. 

An April flood 

Carries away the frog and her brood. 

"When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn, 

Sell your cow and buy you corn ; 

But when she comes to the full bit, 

Sell your corn and buy you sheep. 

*Tis said from the twelfth of May, 

To the twelfth of July, all is day. 

Be it weal, or be it woe, 

Beans should blow before May go. 



231 

Look at your corn in May, 

And you will come weeping away ; 

Look at the same in June, 

And you will come home in another tune. 

If on the eight of June it rain, 

It foretels a wet harvest, men sain. 

Never rued the man 

That laid in his fuel before St. John. 

Barnaby bright, 

The longest day and the shortest night, 

Calm weather in June 

Sets corn in tune. 

No tempest good July, 

Lest corn come off bluely e 

Dry August and warm 

Doth harvest no harm* 

St. Bartholomew 

Brings cold dew. 

At St. Matthee 

Shut up the bee. 

St. Matthew 

Brings on the cold dew. 

No weather is ill 

If the wind be still. 

September blow soft, 

Till the fruit's in the loft. 

A Michaelmas-rot 

Comes ne'er in the pot. 

Foolish pity 

Ruins a city. 

On Lady -day the latter, 

The cold comes on the water. 

v % 



23^ 

Crood October, a good blast, 

To blow the hog acorn and mast* 

Often drunk and seldom sober, 

Falls like the leaves in October* 

On St. Luke's day 

The oxen have leave to play. 

November take flail, 

Let ships no more sail. 

Lucie light, 

The shortest day and longest night. 

When the wind is in the west, 

The weather is in the best. 

When the wind is in the east, 

It's good for neither man nor beast 

When the wind is in the south, 

It's in the rain's mouth. 

When the wind is in the south, 

It blows the bait into the fish's mouth. 

Though old and wise 

Yet still advise. 

The liquorish cat 

Gets many a rap. 

Coblers and tinkers 

Are the best ale drinkers. 

Diversity of humours 

Breedeth tumours. 

Brabling curs 

Never wants sore ears. 

Hey ! ninny nonny ! 

One fool makes many. 

The fewer his years, 

The fewer his tears. 



23S 

He giveth twice 

That gives in a trice. 

A man of gladness 

Seldoin falls into madness. 

No lock will hold 

Against the power of gold. 

Itch and ease 

Can no man please* 

A suit at law, and a urinal, 

Bring a man to the hospital. 

The life of man is a winter's day,, 

And a winter's way. 

He is not a merchant bare, 

That hath money, worth and ware. 

He that once a good name gets, 

May p— s the bed and say he sweats. 

Nothing crave, 

Nothing have. 

Let no woman's painting 

Breed thy heart's fainting. 

A man without reason 

Is a b^ast in season. 

A good recorder 

Sets all in order. 

Well to work and make a fire, 

It doth skill and care require. 

Good words without deeds 

Are rushes and reeds. 

The more years you have, 

The nearer the grave. 

An ague in the spring 

Is physick for a king 



234 

An apple, an egg and a nut, 

You may eat after a slut. 

After dinner sit a while, 

After supper walk a mile. 

Good kail 

Is half a meal. 

He that would live for aye, 

Must eat butter and sage in May. 

The father to the bough, 

The son to the plough. 

The head and feet keep warm, 

The rest will take no harm. 

The air of a window 

Is as the stroke of a cross-bow* 

Follow love, and it will flee, 

Flee love, and it will follow thee* 

Whom love we best, 

To them we can say least. 

He that loves glass without G, 

Take away L and that is he. 

Wedlock 

Is a padlock. 

Blessed is the eye 

That is between Severn and Wye. 

Many an one for land 

Takes a fool by the hand. 

Canting and wooing, 

Brings dallying and doing. 

Happy is the wooing 

That is not long a doi n<?. 

He that would the daughter win ; 

Must with the mother first begin. 



23B 

Wives must be had 

Be they good or bad. 

A nice wife, and a back door, 

Do often make a rich man poor. 

Free of her lips, 

Free of her hips. 

Beggars breed, 

And rich men feed. 

Little said; soon amended, 

Little money soon spended. 

One wit bought, 

Is worth two for nought. 

Pride and grace 

Dwell never in one place. 

Some have hap, 

And some stick in the gap. 

Well sees the mouse 

That the cat's out of the house* 

Up hill spare me, 

Down hill forbear me ; 

Plain way spare me not, 

Let me not drink when I am hot. 

We will bear with the stink, 

If it bring but in chink. 

Hell will never have its due 

Till it have you. 

He's up too soon 

That is hang'd ere noon. 

Nothing is a man's truly, 

That he cometh not by duly. 

A belly that's us'd to be full. 

Makes an empty skull. 



236 

Often might 

Overcomes right. 

Company in distress 

Make the sorrow less. 

I stout and thou stout, 

Who shall carry the dirt out ? 

Good health 

Is infinitely above wealth. 

Bring something lass along with thee, 

If thou intend to live with me. 

An old cart well us'd, 

May last out a new one abus'd. 

All shall be well, 

And Jack shall have Jill. 

By Tre, Pol and Pen, 

You may know the Cornish men. 

Mere wishes 

Are silly fishes. 

A stitch in time 

May save nine. 

Grace will last, 

Beauty will blast. 

If I cannot by might, 

I'll do it by slight. 

Well begun 

Is half done. 

Birds of a feather 

Flock together. 

He that's a blab 

Is a mere scab. 

Great boast, 

Small roast. 



237 

He that wears black, 

Must hang a brush at his back. 

When good cheer is lacking, 

Our friends will be packing. 

Salt cooks bear blame, 

But fresh cooks shame. 

He is a wise man, who 

When he's well can hold him so. 

He that will cheat at play, 

Will cheat you any way. 

He that speaks the thing he should not ? 

Shall hear the thing he would not. 

He is a wise man, who 

Can make a friend of a foe. 

He that would no evil do, 

Must do nought that's like thereto. 

Blow the wind never so fast, 

It will fall at last. 

Be thou weal or be thou woe, 

Thou shalt not be always so. 

He that comes last 

Makes all fast. 

While the leg warmeth 

The boot harmeth. 

Better see a clout 

Than a hole out. 

A friend in court 

Makes the process short. 

A man is weal or woe, 

As he thinks himself so. 

A good wife and health, 

Is a man's best wealth, 



238 

A borrowM loan 

Should come laughing home. 

Take heed 

Is a good read. 

Look not too high, 

Lest a chip fall in your eye. 

He that doth lend, 

Will lose money and friend. 

Many a little 

Make a mickle. 

Little strokes 

Fell great oaks. 

Man proposes, 

God disposes. 

Measure's 

A treasure. 

No joy 

Without annoy. 

New honours 

Change manners. 

What greater crime 

Than loss of time ? 

The cow little giveth 

That hardly liveth. 

Let Uter pen dragon do what it can, 

The river Eden will run as it ran. 

A little house well filPd, 

A little land well thTd, 

And a little wife well will'd. 

Four farthings and a thimble, 

Make a tailor's pocket jingle. 

In truth they must not eat, 

That will not work in heat. 



239 

He that has in his purse no money, 

Had need have 'n his mouth honey. 

Where the horse lies down, 

There some hair will be found. 

He is like Marten, 

The more knave the better fortune, 

You are a fool to steal, 

Unless you can conceal. 

He that goes a borrowing, 

Goes a sorrowing. 

Graft good fruit all, 

Or graft not at all. 

Who dainties love 

Beggars shall prove. 

At the first hand buy, 

At the third let lye. 

Who nothing save, 

Shall nothing have. 

By hawk and by hound 

Small profit is found. 

Some come, some go, 

This life is so. 

All's fish they get 

That cometh to net. 

An old nought 

Will never be ought. 

One man's breath 

Is another man's death. 

One doth harm, 

And another bears the blame. 

Too late to spare 

When the bottom is bare. 



240 

Better one house well fill'd, 

Than two houses spill'd. 

To the grave with the dead, 

And let them that live to the bread. 

He that mischief hatcheth, 

Mischief catcheth. 

A man can never thrive 

"Who hath a wasteful wife. 

'Tis the farmer's care 

That makes the field bare. 

Do not trust nor contend, 

Nor lay wagers nor lend, 

And you will have peace to your life's end. 

Pay what you owe, 

And what you are worth you \* ill know. 

To give and to have, 

Doth a brain crave. 

Excess of delight 

Palls appetite. 

Wise fear 

Begets care. 

A cold April 

The barn will fill. 

Leave a jest 

When it pleases you best. 

A crackt bell 

Can never sound well. 

Advice whisper'd in the ear. 

Is not worth a tare. 

Without pains, 

No gains. 

Patience with poverty 

Is a poor man's remedy, 



241 

He that cannot pay, 

Let him pray. 

There is never any cake, 

But there is some of the same make. 

Shameless pray 

Must have shameless nay. 

Sudden acquaintance 

Brings long repentance. 

Sorrow and an evil life, 

Maketh soon an old wife. 

He that speaks lavishly, 

Shall hear as knavishly. 

Sluggards guise, 

Loth to go to bed, and loth to rise. 

Better are small fish 

Than an empty dish. 

Sometimes words 

Hurt more than swords. 

Account not that slavery, 

That brings in penny savoury. 

All work and no play, 

Makes Jack a dull boy. 

Penny and penny 

Laid up will be many. 

He can ill pipe 

That wants his upper lip. 

'Tis plenty 

That makes you dainty. 

It's merry in the hall, 

When beards wag all. 

One year a nurse, 

And seven the worse. 



242 

Linen often to water, 

Soon to tatter. 

Of young men die many, 

Of old men escape not any. 

Birchen twigs 

Break no ribs. 

At Candlemas 

The cold comes to us. 

An ape is never so like an ape, 

As when he wears a doctor's cap. 

Who will not lay up a penny, 

Shall never have many. 

He that would please all and himself too* 

Undertakes what none could ever do. 

He that by the plough would thrive, 

Himself must either hold or drive. 

There is nothing agrees worse, 

Than a prince's heart and a beggar's purse. 

Be it better, or be it worse, 

Be rul'd by him that bears the purse. 

In vain doth the mill clack, 

If the miller his hearing lack. 

If one but knew how good it were, 

To eat a pullet in Janiveer ; 

If he had twenty in a flock, 

He would leave but one to go with the cock. 

A bushel of March dust is a thing, 

That's worth the ransom of a king. 

An ape's an ape, a varlet's a varlet, 

Though they be clad in silk or scarlet. 

The counsels that are given in wine, 

Will do no good to thee or thine. 



243 

When all is gone and nothing left, 

What avails the dagger with dudgeon haft ? 

In times of prosperity friends will be plenty, 

In times of adversity not one in twenty. 

A maid oft seen, and a gown oft worn, 

Are disesteemed, and held in scorn. 

Before thou marry, 

Make sure of a house wherein to tarry. 

Who more than he is worth doth spend, 

He makes a rope his iife to end. 

A thousand pounds and a bottle of hay, 

Is all one at Dooms-day. 

If the partridge had the woodcock's thigh, 

'Twould be the best bird that ever did fly. 

The love of a woman, and a bottle of wine, 

Are sweet for a season, but last a short time. 

Be always as merry as ever you can, 

For no man delights in a sorrowful man. 

He that woos a maid must come seldom in her sight, 

But he that woos a widow, must woo her day and night. 

A woman, a spaniel, and a walnut tree, 

The more they are beaten, the better they be. 

There is no mischief in the world done, 

But a woman is always one. 

A wicked woman, and an evil, 

Is three half pence worse than the devil. 

He that is needy when he is married, 

Shall not be rich when he is buried. 

As the good-man saith, so say we, 

But as the good-wife saith, so it must be. 

Fair and foolish, black and proud, 

Long and lazy, little and loud. 

x 2 



2U 

Maidens must be mild and meek^ 

Swift to hear, and slow to speak. 

Remember man, and keep in mind, 

A faithful friend is hard to find. 

The more haste the worse speed. 

Quoth the tailor to his long thread. 

The good or ill hap of a good or ill life, 

Is the good or ill choice of a good or ill wife. 

When I did well, I heard it never, 

When I did ill, I heard it ever. 

When the fool finds a horse shoe, 

He thinks always so to do. 

Women and wine, game and deceit, 

Make the wealth small, and the wants great. 

If men would make haste when afoot, 

They need not put their horses to it. 

What raging rashly is begun, 

Challengeth shame before half done. 

They that worship God merely for fear, 

Would worship the devil too, if he appear. 

The higher the plumb tree, the riper the plumb ; 

The richer the cobler, the blacker his thumb. 

When Adam delv'd, and Eve span, 

Pray where was then the gentleman ? 

He that buys land, buys many stones, 

He that buys flesh, buys many bones ; 

He that buys eggs, buys many shells, 

But he that buys ale, buys nothing else. 

Our fathers who were wonderous wise, 

Did wash their throats before their eyes. 

Break coals, cut candle, set brand an end, 

Neither good housewife, nor good housewife's friend. 



245 

No more mortar, no more brick, 

A crafty knave has a cunning trick. 

It would make a man scratch where it doth not itch, 

To see a man live poor to die rich. 

He that hath more smocks, than shirts in a bucking, 

Had need be a man of a good fore-looking. 

Money we want, and cannot borrow, 

Yet drink we must, to siacken sorrow. 

Cold broth hot again, that lov'd I never; 

Old love renew'd again, that lov d I ever. 

Great wits to madness, sure are near alli'd, 

And thin partitions do their bounds divide* 

Like dogs that snarl about a bone, 

And play together when they've done. 

He that gets money before he gets wit, 

Will be but a short while master of it. 

His wit got wings, and would have flown, 

But poverty still kept him. down. 

He has wit at will, 

That with an angry heart can hold him still. 

He that spends all upon a whore, 

Both shame and sorrow must endure. 

It's God that feeds the crows, 

That neither tills, harrows, nor sows. 

Know when to spend, and when to spare, 

And you need not be busy, you will ne'er be bare. 

The tricks a colt gets at his first breaking, 

Will, whilst he iiveth, never be lacking. 

He that leaves certainty, and sticks to chance, 

When fools pipe, he may dance. 

It's a good horse that never stainbles, 

And a good wife that never grumh es. 

x a 



246 

The best horse needs breaking, 

And the aptest child needs teaching. 

He that buys a house ready wrought, 

Has many a pin and nail for nought. 

He that buys lawn before he can fold it. 

Shall repent him before he have sold it, 

Look well before you leap, 

For snakes among the flowers creep. 

He that will meddle with all things. 

May go shoe the goslings. 

If a woman were as little as she is good, 

A peacod would make her a gown and a hood. 

Say well, and do well, end with a letter, 

Say well is good, but do well is better. 

Who goes more bare, 

Than the shoemaker's wife, and the smith's mare! 

Who doth sing so merry a note, 

As the cobler that cannot change a groat ! 

Good riding at two anchors, men have told. 

For if one break, t'other may hold. 

The world was never so dull still, 

But if one wont, another will. 

I wot well how the world wags, 

He is most lov'd that hath most bags. 

When the cat winketh, 

Little wots the mouse what the cat thinketh. 

They that cobble and clout, 

Shall have work when others go without. 

Who gives away goods before he be dead, 

You should take a beetle and knock him at head. 

Give a child all he shall crave, 

And a dog while his tail doth wave, 

And you will have a fair dog and foul knave. 



247 

It is hard to split the hair, 

That nothing is wanted and nothing to spare. 

He that winketh with one eye, and seeth him with t'other, 

I would not trust him though he were my brother. 

He that still gapeth till he be fed, 

Well may he gape until he be dead. 

Tell me with whom thou goest, 

And I'll tell thee what thou doest. 

He that hears much and speaks not all, 

Shall be welcome both in bower and hall. 

Had I reveng'd every wrong, 

I had not worn my skirts so long. 

Many talk of Robin Hood, that never shot in his bow, 

And many talk of Little John, that never did him know, 

Better ride when saddles do lack, 

On a pad than on a bare horse's back. 

He that have but little, he shall have less, 

And he that hath right nought, right nought shall possess. 

If St. Swithin weep, that year, the proverb says, 

The weather will be foul for forty days. 

If the first of July it be rainy weather, 

'Twill rain more or less, for four weeks together. 

A shower in July when the corn begins to fill, 

Is worth a plough of oxen and all belongs theretill. 

Til* St. James's day be come and gone, 

You may have hops, or you may have none. 

If the twenty-fourth of August be fair and clear, 

Then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year. 

When a musician has forgot his note, 

He makes as though a crumb stuck in his throat. 

Nothing more smooth than glass, yet nothing more brittle. 

Nothing more fine than wit, yet nothing more fickle. 



£4S 

March balkham, 

Comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb. 

So many mists as in March you see, 

So many frosts in May will be. 

March many weathers rain'd and blow'd, 

But March grass never did good. 

A peck of March dust, and a shower in May, 

Makes the corn green, and the fields ga}\ 

If you will have good cheese, and have old, 

You must turn him seven times before he is cold. 

When elder is white, brew and bake a peck, 

When elder is black, brew and bake a sack. 

Winter's thunder and Summer's flood, 

Never boded Englishman good. 

The pidgeon never knoweth woe, 

But when she doth a benting go. 

This rule in gardening never forget, 

To sow dry, and set wet. 

When the Sloe tree is as white as a sheet, 

Sow your barley whether it be dry or wet. 

If Janiveer s calends be summerly gay, 

'Twill be winterly weather till the calends of May. 

It is an omen bad, the Yeomen say, 

If I'hcebus shew his face the second day. 

The shepherd had as lief see his wife on the bier, 

As that Candlemas-day should be pleasant and clear. 

If Candlemas-day be fair and bright, 

Winter will have another flight ; 

If on Candlemas-day it be shower and rain, 

Winter is gone, and will not come again. 

On Candlemas-day, 

You must have half your straw, and half your hay. 



249 

On Valentine's-day, 

Will a good goose lay ; 

If she be a good goose, her dame well to pay, 

She will lay two eggs before Valentine's-day. 

Such envious things the women are, 

That fellow whores they cannot bear. 

Every lamb 

Knows its dam. 

A Saturday's moon, 

If it comes once in seven years, it comes too soon. 

No weather is ill, 

If the wind hold still. 

A light purse 

Is a heavy curse. 

A knight of Cales, 

A gentleman of Wales, 

And a laird of the North-Country ; 
There's a Yeoman of Kent, 
That with one year's rent, 

Will buy them all three. 
An ounce of wit that's bought, 
Is worth a pound that's taught. 
Sirrah your dog, but sirrah not me, 
For I was born before you could see, 



COLLECTION 



OF 



SCOTS PROVERBS. 

i 

BY ALLAN RAMSAY. 



^k BEGUN turn is hauf ended. 

A blate cat maks a proud mouse. 

A blythe heart maks a blooming look. 

A bit but, and a bit ben,, maks a mim maiden at the 

board en'. 
A bonny bride is soon buskit, and a short horse is soon 

whisket. 
A borrowed len 9 shou'd gae laughing hame. 
Abundance of law breaks nae law. 
A cock's ay crouse on his ain midden-head. 
A cramm'd kyte maks a crazy carcase. 
A daft nurse maks a wise wean. 



251 

A denk maiden maks a dirty wife. 

A drink is shorter than a tale. 

A dry summer ne'er made a dear peck. 

A dumb man wins nae law. 

Ae bird in the hand is worth ten fleeing by. 

A fool may win money, but it taks a wise man to keep it, 

Ae gude turn deserves anither. 

Ae hour's cau'd will suck out seven years heat. 

Ae man may lead a horse to the water, but twenty winna 

gar him drink. 
Ae man's meat is anither man's poison. 
Ae swallow maks nae simmer. 
Ae scabbed sheep will smit the hale hirdsel. 
Ae hour in the morning is worth twa in the afternoon* 
A fidging mare shou'd be weel girded. 
A fleer wad ay hae a follower. 
A fool and his money is soon parted. 
A fool may gi*e a wise man a counsel. 
A friend in court is worth a penny in purse. 
A friend in need's a friend indeed. 
Aft counting keeps friends lang thegither. 
After meat mustard. 
After a storm comes a ca'm. 

A fou man and a hungry horse ay make haste hame. 
A fou purse never lacks friends. 
A rough bane maks a fou wame. 
A fou wame maks a stiff back. 
A black hen lays a white egg* 
A gaun foot's aye getting. 
A gentle horse shou'd be sindle spurr'd. 
A gi'en horse shou'd na be look'd i' the mouth. 
A gi'en game was ne'er won. 
A gude beginning maks a gude ending. 



252 

A gude cow may hae an ill cauf. 

A gude tongue's a safe weapon. 

A gude ingle maks a roomy fire-side. 

A gude word is as soon said as an ill. 

A gude tale is no the waur to be twice tauld. 

A gude name is sooner tint than won. 

A green turfs a gude gudemither. 

A green Yule maks a fat kirk-yard. 

A great cry and little woo, quoth the deil, when he clip- 
pet the sow. 

A greedy e'e never gat a gude pennyworth. 

A hantle cry murder, and are ay uppermost. 

A houndless hunter, and a gunless gunner, see ay routh 
o' game. 

A hungry man's ay angry. 

Ale sellers shou'd na be tale-tellers. 

A liar shou'd hae a gude memory. 

Alike ilka day maks a clout on Sunday. 

A light purse maks a heavy heart. 

A's no gowd that glitters. 

A* the truth shou'd na be tauld. 

A* the corn's no shorn by kempers. 

A' the winning's in the first buying. 

A' that's said in the kitchen shou'd na be tauld in the ha'* 

A* cats are grey i' the dark. 

A's no tint that's in hazard, 

A's fish that comes i' the net. 

A' Stewarts are no sib to the king. 

A* the speed's i' the spurs. 

A's weel that ends weel. 

A' things are gude untri'd. 

A man's ay crouse on his ain cause. 

A man may spit in his loof and do little. 



253 

A man carina bear a' his kin on his back. 

A man at five may be a fool at fifteen. 

A man is weal or wae, as he thinks himsel sae. 

A mouthfu' o' meat may be a townfu' o' shame. 

A muffled cat was ne'er a gude hunter. 

An auld mason maks a gude barrowman. 

An auld pock is ay skailing. 

An auld dog bites sicker. 

An ill shearer never gat a gude heuk. 

An ill-willy cow shou'd hae short horns. 

An ill lesson is soon iearn'd. 

An ill wife, and a new kindled candle, shou'd hae their 

heads hadden down. 
An ill servant ne'er prov'd a gude master. 
An olite mother maks a swere daughter. 
An ounce of mother-wit is worth a pound of clergy. 
Ane may lo'e the kirk weel eneugh, yet not be ay riding 

on the rigging o't. 
A new besom soops clean. 
A nod of honest men is eneugh. 
April showers bring May flowers. 
A penny mair buys the whistle. 
A pound of care winna pay an ounce of debt. 
A ragged colt may prove a gude gelding. 
A rowing stane gathers nae fog. 
A Scots mist will weet an Englishman to the skin. 
As broken a ship has come to land. 
As fu J o* mischief as an ega's fu' o' meat. 
As gude may had the stirrip as he that loups on. 
As gude a fellow as e'er toom'd a bicker. • 

As lang runs the fox as he has feet. 
As lang lives the merry man as the sad. 
As lang as ye serve the toad ye maun bear up his tail. 

Y 



254 

As the sow fills the draff sours. 

As the auld cock craws, the young cock learns. 

As the fool thinks, the bell clinks. 

As the market gangs the wares maun sell. 

As weel be hang'd for a wedder as a lamb. 

As ye lo'e me look in my dish. 

As ye do yoursel ye judge your neibours. 

As ye mak your bed, sae ye maun he down. 

A safe conscience maks a sound sleep. 

A short tree stands Jang.- 

A sillerless man gangs fast through the market, 

A sinking master maks aft a rising man. 

A slothfu' hand maks a slim fortune. 

A sorrowfu* heart's ay dry. 

As ye brew weel ye'll drink the better. 

A spur in the head is worth twa in the heel. 

A sturdy beggar shou'd hae a stout naysayer. 

At open doors dogs gae ben. 

A tale-teller is waur than a thief. 

A tarrowing bairn was never fat. 

A taking hand will never want. 

A tale never tines in the telling. 

A wight man never wanted a weapon. 

A thread will tye an honest man better than a rape will « 

knave. 
A tocherless dame sits lang at hame. 
A twapenny cat may look at a king. 
A wee bush is better than nae bield. 
A f wee thing fleys cowards. 
Auld men are twice bairns. 
Auld sparrows are ill to tame. 
Auld springs gi'e nae price. 
Auld sins breed new shame. 
A yeld sow was never gude to grices. 



255 



B 



Bare gentry, bragging beggars. 

Bastard brood are ay proud. 

Be lang sick that ye may be soon hale. 

Beggars shou'd na be choosers. 

Beg i'rae beggars you'll never be rich. 

Better a bit i' the morning than fast a' day. 

Better a clout in than a hole out. 

Better a dog fawn on you than bark at you. 

Better a finger aff than ay wagging. 

Better a sair tae than a fause frien'. 

Better a tocher in her than wi* her. 

Better a toom house than an ill tenant. 

Better a wee ingle to warm you, than a muckle fire to burn 

you. 
Better auld debts than auld sairs. 
Better sma fish than nae fish. 
Better be blyth wi' little than sad wi' naithing. 
Better be envied than pitied. 
Better be alane than in ill company. 
Better be idle than ill employed. 
Better be out o' the warld than out o' the fashion. 
Better be kind than cumbersome. 
Better buy than borrow. 
Better cry fie saut than fie stink. 
Better day the better deed. 
Better eat grey bread in youth than in eild. 
Better flatter a fool than fight wi' him. 
Better find iron than tine siller. 
Better gi'e the slight than tak it. 
Better haud by a hair than draw wi* a tether. 

y 2 



256 

Better ha'f egg than toom doup. 

Better hain at the braird than at the bottom. 

Better hand loose than in an ill tethering. 

Better kiss a knave than cast out wi* him. 

Better keep the deil without the door than drive him out 

o' the house. 
Better keep weel than mak weel. 
Better late thrive than ne'er do weel. 
Better live in hope than in despair. 
Better my bairns seek frae me than I beg frae them. 
Better my friend think me fremit than fashous. 
Better ne'er begun than ne'er ended. 
Better rue sit than rue flit. 

Better the end of a feast than the beginning of a fray. 
Better to haud than to draw. 
Better twa skaiths than ae sorrow. 
Better wait on the cook than the doctor. 
Better wear shoon than sheets. 
Between the deil and the deep sea. 
Bid a man to the roast and stick him wi* the spit. 
Bigging and bairns marrying are great wasters. 
Birds of a feather flock thegither. 
Birth's gude but breeding's better. 
Biting and scarting is Scotch fouk's wooing. 
Black will tak nae ither hue. 
Blind men sh u'd na be judges o' colours. 
Blude's thicker than water. 
Boden gear stinks. 

Bourd na wi' Bawty least he bite ye. 
Burnt bairns the fire dreads. 
Broken bread maks hale bairns. 
Butter and burn trouts are kittle meat for maidens. 
Buy a thief frae the gallows and he'll cut your throat. 



257 



Cadgers are ay fond o J creels. 

Cast a cat o'er the house rigging 'twill fa' on its feet. 

Cast a bane in the deil's teeth. 

Cats and carlins sit in the sun. 

Cauld cools the love that kindles owre het. 

Changes are lightsome. 

Charity begins at hame. 

Come unca'd sits unserv'd. 

Comes to my hand like the boul of a pint stoup. 

Come wi' the wind and gae wi* the water. 

Confess'd faut is hauf amends. 

Confess debt and crave days. 

Confess and be hang'd. 

Corn him weel, he'll work the better. 

Count again is not forbidden. 

Count siller after a' your kin. 

Count like Jews and 'gree like brethren. 

Credit is better than ill won gear. 

Credit keeps the crown o' the causeway. 

Crooked carlin, quoth the cripple to his wife. 

Cut your coat according to your claith. 

D 

Damn and want o' wit maks auld wives donard. 
Damming and laving is gude sure fishing. 
Daughters and dead fish are nae keeping ware. 
Dawted bairns dow bear little. 
Day-light will peep through a sma hole. 
Deal sma' and ser' a'. 

Dear bought and far sought is meat for the ladies. 
Death and marriage break term-day. 

Y 3 



258 

Death defies the doctor. 

Delays are dangerous 

Ding down the nest and the rooks will flee awa}'. 

Dinna gut your fish till ye get them. 

Dit your mouth wi' your meat. 

Dirt bodes luck. 

Do as the lasses do, say no and tak it. 

Dinna meddle wi' the deil and the laird's bairns 

Dogs will redd swine. 

Dows and dominies leave ay a foul house. 

Double charges rive cannons. 

Draff he sought, and drink was his errand. 

Draff's gude eneugh for swine. 

Drive a cow to the ha* she'll rin to the byre. 

Drink and drouth come na ay thegither. 

Drink little that ye may drink lang. 

Drunken at e'en and dry in the morning. 

Dummie winna lie. 



Early master soon knave. 

Eat your fill but pouch nane. 

Eat pease wi' the prince, and cherries wi' the chapmaa. 

Eat in measure and defy the doctor. 

Eat weeFs drink vveel s brither. 

Eating and drinking wants but a beginning. 

Eild and poortiths sair to thole. 

Eith learning the cat to the kirn. 

Eith working when will's at name. 

Either win the Jiorse or tine the saddle. 

Either the toad or the fearn bush. 

E'ening red and a morning grey, is a taiken of a bonny day, 

E'ening oats are gude morning fodder. 



259 



E'en as ye win't sae yc may wear't. 

Fneugh's as glide's a feast. 

Every ane creeshes the fat sow's tail. 

Every ane loups the dike where it's laighest. 

Every craw thinks its ane bird whitest. 

Every dog has his day. 

Every man can guide an ill wife weel but he that has her. 

Every man bows to the bush he gets bield frae. 

Every man to his mind, as the man said, when he kiss'd 

his ain cow. 
Every man's ta>e's gude till anither's be tauld. 
Every man at forty is a foo' or a physician 
Every man has his ain draff pock. 
E\ery miller wad wise the water to his ain mill. 
Every thing has an end, and a pudding has twa, 
Experience teaches fools. 

F 

Faint heart never won fair lady. 

Fair exchange is nae robbery. 

Fancy kills and cures. 

Fann'd fires and forc'd love ne'er did weel. 

Faraway fowls hae fair feathers. 

Far frae court far frae care. 

Far behind that may not follow. 

Fast bind, fast find. 

Fat paunches bode lean paws. 

Feckless fock are ay fain of ane anither. 

Fiddlers wives and gamesters ale are free to every body. 

Fiddlers dogs and flesh-flies come to leasts unca'd. 

Fight dog, right bear, wha wons deil care. 

Fine feathers mak fine birds. 

Fire and water are gude servants, but ill masters* 



260 

First come first ser'd. 

Flaes and a girning wife are waukrife bed-fellows. 

Fleying a bird is no the way to grip it. 

Flitting of farms mak mailings dear. 

Fools haste is nae speed. 

Fools shou'd nae hae chapping sticks. 

Fools ravel and wise men redd. 

Fools and bairns shou'd nae see a ha'f done turn. 

Fools mak feasts, and wise fouk eat them ; the wise mak 

jests, and fools repeat them. 
For fashion's sake, as dogs gang to the market. 
Fore-warn'd, ha'f arm'd. 
Foul water slockens fire. 

Fresh fish and poor friends grow soon ill-far'd. 
Friends ? gree best sindry. 
Frost and faushood hae baith a dirty waygang. 
Fumblers are ay fond o' weans. 

G 

Gaunting bodes w anting. 

Giff-gafF maks gude friends. 

Gie a dog an ill name and he'll soon be hang'd, 

Gie you an inch ye'll tak an ell. 

Gie the deil his due. 

Glasses and lasses are bruckle ware. 

God help great fowk, the poor can beg. 

God ne'er sent the mouth but he sent meat wi't. 

God send you mair wit and me mair siller. 

Great barkers are nae biters. 

Greening wives are ay greedy. 

H 

Haud a hank in your ain hand. 



261 

Hae gars a deaf man hear. 

Hair and hair maks the carl's beard bare. 

Hale-sale's gude sale. 

Hame is hame if it were ne'er sae namely. 

Hang them that hae nae shift, and them that hae owre 

mony. 
Hang a thief when he's young, and he'll no steal when 

he's auld. 
Hardships sindle come single. 
He begs frae them that borrow'd frae him. 
He brings a staff to break his ain head. 
He does na ay ride when he saddles his horse. 
He fells twa dogs wi* ae stane. 

He gangs awa in an ill tune that never- comes again. 
He's like a sheep-head in a pair of tangs. 
He had his finger in the pye. 
He has a bee in his bannet lug. 
He has gotten a bite o' his ain bridle. 
He his nae as muckle sense as a cow can haud in her fauld- 

ed neive- 
He has faut of a wife that marries mam's pet. 
He has mair wit in his little finger than ye hae in a' your 

bouk, 
He has feather'd his nest, he may flee when he likes. 
He has need of a lang spoon that sups wi' the deil. 
He has a slid grip that has an eel by the tail. 
He kens na a B by a bull's foot. 
He kens his ain groats amang ither fouks kail. 
Hell soon be a beggar that cannot say nay. 
He loo'd mutton weel that licked where the ewe lay. 
He'll no sell his hen on a rainy day. 
He may weel swim fiat has his head hadden up, 
He never lies but when the hollin's green. 



262 

He needs maun rin that the deil drives. 

He's wise that kens whan he's weel, and can haud himsel 

sae. 
He's an Aberdeen's man, taks his word again. 
He's like a flae in a blanket. 
He's no sae daft as he lets on. 
He's a wise bairn that kens his ain father. 
He's unco fou in his ain house that canna pike a bane in 

his neibour's. 
He's a proud horse that winna bear his ain provender. 
He's like a singet cat, better than he's likely. 
He s a worthless gudeman that's no miss'd. 
He stumbles at a strae and loups o'er a won-lyne. 
He speaks like a prent-book. 
He that aught the cow gangs nearest her tail. 
He that buys land buys stanes, and he that buys beef 

buys banes. 
He that buys nuts buys shells, but he that buys gude ale 

buys naithing else. 
He that canna mak sport shou'd mar nane. 
He that comes unca'd sits unserv'd. 
He that deals in dirt has ay foul fingers. 
He that's fear'd for a f — t will ne'er bide thunder. 
He that gies a' wad gies naithing. 
He that has a gude cramp may thole some thistles. 
He that has nae siller in his purse shou'd hae silk on his 

tongue. * 

He that hides is the best at seeking. 
He that has muckle ay gets mair. 
He that has muckle wad ay hae mair. 
He that has a muckle nose thinks ilk ane speaks o't. 
He that hews aboon his head may get a speal in his e'e. 
He that's ill to himsel will be gude to naebody. 



263 

He that laughs at his ain joke spills the sport o't. 

He that speers a 5 ', gets wit o' part: 

He that sleeps wi' dogs maun rise wi' flaes. 

He that winna when he may, he shanna when he wad. 

He that woos a widow should woo her day and night. 

He. that wad eat the kirnel maun crack the nut. 

He that will to Coupar will to Coupar. 

He wad gang a mile to flit a sow. 

He wats na whilk end o* him's uppermost. 

He wad gar you trow that the moon's made o' green cheese. 

He wad tine his lugs if they werna tacked to him. 

He wad rake hell for a bodle. 

His bark is war than his bite. 

His egg has ay twa youks. 

Hooly and fair gangs far in a day. 

Hungry dogs are blythe o' bursten puddings. 



I canna sell the cow and sup her milk. 

I can see as far into a mill-stane as he that picked it. 

I hae anither tow on my rock. 

I hae a gude bow, but it's in the castle. 

I had rather gae by your door than o'er your grave. 

I hae gotten an ill kame for my ain head. 

I hae mair ado than a dish to wash. 

I hae baith my meat and my mense. 

I hae seen mair than I hae eaten, or ye wadna be there. 

I ken by my cog my cow's milked. 

I'll gar his ain gartens tye up his ain hose. 

I'll ne'er lout sae laigh and lift sae little. 

I'll ne'er put the rogue aboon the gentleman. 

I'll ne'er keep a dog and bark mysel. 

I'll tak the best first, as the priest did o' the plumbs, 



264 

I'll ne'er brew drink to treat drunkards. 

I'm o'er auld a cat to draw a strae before. 

Pm no sae blind as I'm bleer-ey'd. 

I'm nae sae scant o' clean pipes as to blaw wi' a burnt 

cutty. 
I'm speaking o' hay and you o' horse corn. 
I'rii neither sma' drink thirsty, nor grey bread hungry, 
I ne'er sat on your coat tail. 
I ne'er lo'ed meat that craw'd in my crapin. 
I wad be scant o' claith to sole my hose wi' dockens. 
I wadna fother you for your muck. 

I wadna ca' the king my cousin, tho' he w T ere my uncle's son. 
I wadna be deav'd wi' your keckling for a' your eggs. 
I wadna mak fish o' ane and flesh o' anither. 
I wish you readier meat than a rinning hare. 
If ae sheep loup o'er the dike a' the lave will follow. 
If and and spoils mony a gude charter. 
If a man's gaun down the brae, ilk ane gies him a jundie. 
If he bind the pock she'll sit down upon't. 
If he be nae a souter he's as gude a shoe clouter. 
If I canna keep geese I'll keep gaislins. 
If I canna do't by might I'll do't by slight. 
If it be a faut it's nae ferly. 
If it winna sell it winna sour. 
If stakes be gude to gie they'll be gude to get. 
If the deil be laird ye'll be tenant. 
If the deil find you idle he'll set you to wark. 
If wishes were horses beggars wad ride. 
If ye hae little gear guide it the better. 
If }'e ca' me scabbed I'll ca' you sca'd. 
If ye lo'e me let it kythe. 

If ye be angry, claw your wame, and cool in the ski ye 
het in. 



265 

If you sell your purse to your wife, gi'e her your breeks 

to the bargain. 
If ye had as little money as ye hae manners, ye wad be 

the poorest man o' 3'our kin. 
If ye win at whoring ye'll tine at naithing. 
If ye serve the toad ye maun bear up his tail. 
Ill bairns ay get broken brows. 
Ill bairns are best heard at hame. 
Ill beef neer made gude broe. 
Ill counsel will gar a man stick his ain mare. 
Ill doers are ay ill dreaders. 
Ill getting het water frae 'neath cauld ice. 
Ill herds mak fat foxes. 
Ill hearing maks wrang rehearsing. 
Ill laying up maks mony thieves. 
Ill news are aft owre true. 
Ill payers are ay gude cravers. 
Ill to tak and eith to tire. 
Ill weeds wax weel. 
Ill workers are ay gude to-putters. 
Ill-will neVr spak weel. 
Ill won gear winna enrich the third heir. 
Ill won, as ill wair'd. 

Joke at leisure, you kenna wha may joke yoursel. 
It cam wi" the wind, let it gang wi' the weather. 
It's a bare moor that ye gang thro' and no get a heathei 

cow. 
It's a cauld stammock that naithing heats on. 
It's a gude goose that draps ay. 

IFs a gude poor man's blade, it will bow or it break. 
It's a hard task to be poor and leal. 
It's an ill wind that blaws naebody gude. 
It's an ill cause that the lawyers think shame o\ 

z 



It's an ill pack that's no worth the custom. 

It's a mean mouse that has but ae hole. 

It's a nasty bird fyles its ain nest. 

It's a stinking praise comes out o' anes ain mouth* 

It's a sin to lie on the deil. 

It's a shame to eat the cow and worry on the tail. 

It's a sorry hen that canna scrape for ae bird. 

It's a sair dung bairn that mayna greet. 

It's a' tint that's done to auld fo'k and bairns. 

It's but kindly that the pock sa'r of the herring. 

It's better to sup wi' a cutty than want a spoon. 

It's no a' tint that fa's by. 

It's dear coft honey that's lick'd aff a thorn. 

It's eith crying Yule on anither man's stool, 

It's fair in ha' where beards wag a'. 

It's a- gude maul that comes a-wili. 

It's gude sleeping in a hale skin. 

It's gude to be sib to siller. 

It's gude gear that pleases the merchant. 

It's gude to be gude in your time, ye kenna how lang it 

may last. 
It's gude to be merry and wise, quoth the miller, when 

he mounted twice. 
It's gude to hae twa strings to your bow. 
It's gude to be side but no trailing. 
It's hard to gar an auld mare leave aff flinging. 
It's nard to sit in Rome and strive wi' the Pope. 
It's hard for a greedy e'e to hae a leal heart. 
It's ill to be ca'd a thief and ay found picking. 
It's ill to bring out o' the flesh what's bred i' the bane. 
It's ill getting breeks aff a Highlandman. 
It's ill taking corn frae geese. 
It's ill bringing butt what's no there benn. 



267 

It's ill making a silk purse o' a sow's lug, or a touting 

horn o' a toad's tail. 
It's kittle shooting at corbies and clergy. 
It's kittle to waken sleeping dogs. 
It's lang or the deil be found dead at a dike-side. 
It's lang or ye need to cry, pshaw, to an egg. 
It's lang or like-to-die fill the kirk-yard. 
It's muckle gars the tailor laugh, for souters girn ay. 
It's needless to bid a wren rin. 
It's needless to pour water on a drown'd mouse. 
It's no the cowl that maks the friar. 

It's nae sin to tak a gude price, but in gi'Ing ill measure. 
It's no tint that a friend gets. 
It's nae play when ane laughs and anither greets. 
It's no what is she ? but what has she ? 
It's nae laughing to girn in a widdy. 
It's o'er far between the kitchen and the ha'. 
It's o'er late to spare when the bottom's bare. 
It's past joking when the head's aff. 
It's weel war'd that wabsters want. 
It's weel that our fau ts are no written on our face. 
It's time eneugh to skriegh when ye're strucken. 
It's time eneugh to mak my bed when I'm gaun to lie down. 
It's lang or four bare legs gather heat in the bed. 
It maun be true that a' fo'k says. 

It may come in an hour that winna come in seven } : ear« 
It will be a feather out o' your wing. 
It sets a sow weel to wear a saddle. 
It sets you weel to gab again wi' your bannet on. 
It was ne'er for naithing that the gled whistled. 
It will be a fire when it burns, quoth the toad, when he 

s — t on the ice. 

z 2 



268 

K 

Kail hains bread. 

Kame sindle came sair. 

Kamesters are ay creeshy. 

Keep woo and it will be dirt, keep lint and it will be silk. 

Keep your ain fish guts to your ain sea-maws. 

Keep your ill-dry'd taunts to 3^our mouldy-hair'd maidens. 

Keep your breath to cool your crowdie. 

Keep your mouth close and your een open. 

Kindness comes a-will, it canna be coft. 

Kindness will creep whare it canna gang. 

Kindle a candle at baith ends it will soon be done. 

King's cauff's worth other fo'k's corn. 

King s cheese gaes hauf awa in pairings. 

Kissing gaes by favour. 

Kiss a carl and clap a carl, and that's the way to tine s> 

carl. 
Kythe in your ain colours that fo'k may ken you. 



Laith to bed and laith to rise. 

Lang fasting hains nae meat. 

Lang straes are nae motes. 

Lang tongu'd wives gae lang wi' bairn. 

Langest at fire soonest finds cauld. 

Lang speaking part maun spill. 

Law's costly, take a pint and gree. 

Law-makers should na be law-breakers. 

Laugh at leisure, ye may greet ere night. 

Laugh and lay't down again. 

Lay the head o' the sow to the tail o' the grice. 

Learn young, learn fair. 



269 

Learn the cat to the kirn and she'll aye be licking. 

Letna the plough stand to kill a mouse. 

Let alane maks loun. 

Let a' trades live, quoth the wife, when she burnt her be- 

Let ay bell'd wathers break the snaw. 

Let by-ganes be by-ganes. 

Let him tak a spring on his ain fiddle. 

Let him haud the bairn that aught the bairn. 

Let him cool in the skin he het in. 

Let ilka sheep hang by its ain shank. 

Let the muckle horse get tlie muckle won-line. 

Let horns gang wi' the hide. 

Let the morn come and the meat wi't. 

Let the kirk stand in the kirk-yard. 

Lie for him and he'll swear for you. 

Light suppers make lang life-days. 

Little winning maks a heavy purse. 

Lightly come, lightly gane. 

Like draws to like, as a scabbed horse to an auld dvke. 

Like Scotsmen, ay wise behint the ban'. 

Likely lies aft i' the mire, when unlikely wins thro'. 

Like the maidens o' Bayordie, ye learn by the ear. 

Like hens, ye rin aye to the tap o' the heap. 

Like's an ill mark, 

Like the bairns o' Falkirk, ye mind naething but mischief. 

Like the kimmer that claw'd the stool instead o' her end. 

Like the cat, fain fish wad ye eat, but ye are laith to weet 

your feet. 
Like the wife wi' the mony daughters, the best comes 

hindmost. 
Lippen to me but look to yoursel. 
Little Jock gets the little dish, and that hauds him lang 

little. 

z 3 



y 270 

Little kend the less cared for;^ 

Little gear the less care. 

Little said is soon mended, little gear's soon spended. 

Little wit T the head males muckle travel to the feet. 

Little may an auld nag do that maunna nicker. 

Little dogs hae lang tails. 

Live and let live. 

Live upon love as lav'rocks do on leeks. 

Loud on the loan was ne'er a gude milk cow. 

Love and light winna hide. 

Love's as warm amang cotters as courtiers. 

Love me love my dog. 

Love me lightly love me lang. 

Love o'er het soonest cools. 

Love o'er looks mony fau'ts. 

M 

Maidens shou'd be mim till they're married, and then 

they may burn kirks. 
Maidens shoud be mild and meek, quick to hear and slaw 

to speak. 
Mair namely than welcome. 
Maidens tochers and ministers stipends are ay less than 

ca'd. 
Mair by luck than gude guiding. 
Mair haste the waur speed. 
Mak friends o' fremit fo k. 
Mak the best o' an ill bargain you can. 
Mak your hay when the sun shines. 
Malice is ay mindfu'. 

May bees flee not at this time o' the year. 
Maybe your pot may need my clips. 
Mealy-mou'd maids stand lang at the mill. 



271 

Measure twice, cut but ance. 

Muckle may fa* between the cup and the lip. 

Mills and wives are ay wanting. 

Mistress afore fo k, gude-wife behind backs, where lies 

the dish-clout? 
Money is welcome in a dirten clout. 
Mony hands mak light wark. 

Mony a ane kisses the bairn for love o* the nurse. 
Mony excuses p — s the bed. 

Mony fair promises at marriage mak few at tocher-paying. 
Mony sae weel when it was ne'er waur. 
Mony a ane serves a thankless master. 
Mony ways to kill a dog tho' ye dinna hang him. 
Mony cooks ne'er made gude kail 
Mony irons i' the fire part maun cool. 
Mony a ane opens their pack and sells nae wares. 
Mony a ane speers the gate they ken fu' weel. 
My son's my son ay till he get a wife, my daughter's my 

daughter a' the days o y her life. 

N 

Nae fool like an auld fool. 

Nae friend like a friend in need. 

Nae man can thrive unless his wife lets hina. 

Nae sooner up than her head's in the am'ry. 

Nae safe wading in unco water. 

Nae wonder ye be auld like, ilka thing fashes ye, 

Naething sae crouse as a new washen louse. 

Naething's ill to be done when will's at hame. 

Naet king's to be done in haste but gripping of flaes. 

Naething to do but draw in your stool and sit down. 

Naething venture naething win. 

Nane but fools and knaves lay wagers. 



ITfi 

Nane can make a bore but ye'll find a pin till't. 

Nane can play the fool sae weel as a wise man- 

Near's my saik but nearer my skin. 

Nearest the heart nearer the mou. 

Nearest the kirk the farthest frae glide. 

Neck or naething, the king lo'es nae cripples. 

Necessity has nae law. 

Need will gar an auld wife trot, and a naked man rin. 

New lords hae new laws. 

Ne er draw your durk when a dunt will do't. 

Ne er find faut wi' my shoon unless ye pay my cobler. 

Ne'er gae to the deil wi* a dish-clout about your head. 

Ne'er gie me my death in a toom dish. 

Ne'er let on, but laugh in }'Our ain sleeve. 

Ne er marry a widow, unless her first man was hang-d. 

Ne'er quat certainty for hope. 

Ne'er ovvre auld to learn. 

Ne'er rax aboon your reach. 

Ne er scad your lips in other fo'k's kail. 

Ne'er seek a wife till ye ken what to do wi' her. 

Ne'er shaw your teeth unless ye can bite. 

N 'er strive against the stream. 

Ne'er .ke a fore-hammer to break an egg, when ye can do 

it wi' a pen-knive. 
Nipping and scarting's Scotch fo'k's wooing, 
Nineteen naesays o' a maiden are ha fa grant. 

O 

Owre haly was hang'd, and rough and sonsy wan awa\ 
Owre muckle o' ae thing is gude for naething. 
Owre mony grieves but hinder the wark. 
C twa ills choose the least. 



273 

Out o' debt out o' danger. 

Out o' the peat-pot into the gutter. 



Pay him hame in his ain coin. 

Penny wise and pound fool. 

Pennyless sauls may pine in purgatory. 

Poor fo'ks are soon p- — d on. 

Poortith parts gude company. 

Possession is eleven points o* the law. 

Pride ne'er leaves its master till he get a fa*. 

Poets and painters hae liberty to lie. 

Put a coward to his mettle and he'll fight the deil. 

Put your hand nae farther than your sleeve will reach. 

Put your hand i* the creel, and tak out an adder or an eeh 

Q 

Quey caufs are dear veal. 
Quick returns mak rich. 

R 

Rackless youth maks ruefu' eild. 

Raise nae mae deils than ye're able to lay. 

Rather spoil your joke than tine your friend. 

Raw dawds mak fat lads. 

Raw leather raxes. 

Rich fo k hae routh o' friends. 

Ride fair and jap nane. 

Right wrangs nae man. 

Rob Gib's contract, stark love and kindness* 

Rob Peter to pay Paul. 

Rome was nae bigget in ae da}'. 

Roose the ford as ye find it. 



274 

Royet lads may mak sober men. 

Rue and time grow baith in ae garden. 



Sair era vers are ay ill payers. 

Satan reproving sin. 

Saut, quoth the souter, when he had eaten a cow a' but 

the tail. 
Seethe stanes in butter the brose will be gude. 
Second thoughts are best. 
Ser' yoursel till your bairns come o' age. 
Set a beggar on horseback he'll ride to the deiL 
Set a stout heart to a stay bray. 
Shame's past the shade o' your hair. 
Sharp stomacks mak short graces. 
Shallow waters mak maist din. 
She's as leal a maiden as the man left her. 
She hauds up her head like a hen drinking water. 
She brack her elbuck at the kirk door. 
She'll wear like a horse shoe, ay the langer the clearer. 
Short fok are soon angry, their heart's soon at their raou. 
Sindle seen soon forgotten. 
Slaw at meat slaw at wark. 
Sorrow and ill weather come unsent for. 
Some hae a hantle fau'ts, ye're only a ne'er-do-weel. 
Souters and tailors count hours. 
Speak gude o' pipers, your lather was a fiddler. 
Speak when you're spoken to, and drink when you're 

drucken to. 
Speak o' the deil and he'll appear. 
Standing dubs gather dirt. 
Stown dints are sweetest. 
Strike the iron as iang as it's het. 



275 



Tak your will o't, as the cat did o* the haggis, 

Tak the bit and the buffet wi!t. 

Tak your ain will and then ye'll no die o* the pet. 

Tak a hair o' the dog that bit you. 

Tak nae mair on your back thari ye're able to bear. 

Tak a man by his word and a cow by her horn. 

Tak me not up before I fa\ 

Tarry hreeks pay nae fraught. 

Tapped hens like cock-crawing. 

Tear ready tail ready. 

Tell nae your fae when your foot's slipping. 

That's a tee'd ba\ 

That bout cam ne'er out o* your bag. 

That's carrying saut to Dysart and puddings to Tranent. 

That's Halkerston's cow. 

That's the piece a step-bairn ne'er gat. 

That winna be a mote i' your marriage. 

The back and the belly hands every ane busy. 

The bairn speaks i' the field what he hears at the fireside* 

The bird maun flighter that flies wi' ae wing. 

The best is ay cheapest. 

The better day the better deed. 

The blind man's peck should be weel measur'd, 

The cure may be vvaur than the disease. 

The death o' ae bairn winna skail a house. 

The dorty dame may fa' i' the dirt. 

The deil's ay gude to his ain. 

The deil's bairns hae deil's luck. 

The deil ay drives his hogs to an ill market. 

The deil's gane o'er John Wabster. 

The farthest way about is aft the nearest gate hame. 



276 

The e'ening brings a' hame. 

The first fuf o' a fat haggis is ay the bauldest. 

The gravest fish is an oyster, 

The gravest bird's an owl ; 
The gravest beast's an ass, 

And the gravest man's a fool. 
The king's errand may come in the cadger's gate. 
The langer we live we see the mair ferlies. 
The mair ye greet ye'll p — h the less. 
The mae the merrier, the fewer the better cheer. 
The mair ye tread on a t — d it grows the braider. 
The master's e'e maks the horse fat. 
The still sow eats up a' the draff. 
The simple man's the beggar's brither. 
The subject's love is the king's life guard. 
The smith's mare and the souter's wife are ay warst shod. 
The thiefer like the better sodger. 

The thing that lies na in your gate breaks na your shins. 
The thing that's in your wame's not in your testament. 
The thrift o' you was the death o' your gude-dame. 
The toad keeps ay his ain hole clean. 
The toad's whelps are ill to tame. 
The worth o' a thing is best ken'd by the want o't. 
The wife's ay welcome that comes wi' a crooked oxter. 
The warld is bound to nae man. 
There's mony a true tale tauld in jest. 
There's muckle to do when burgers ride. 
There's nane sae blind as them that winna see. 
There's naething ill said that's nae ill tane. 
There was ne'er as silly a Jocky but there was as silly a 

Jenny. 
There's beild aneath an auld man's beard. 
There is a teugh sinew in an auld wife's heel 



277 

There is a differ betwixt the piper and his bitch. 

There is a wawp i' the raip. 

There is a siiddery stane before the ha' door. 

There is as glide fish i' the sea as e'er cam out o't, 

There grows nae grass at the cross. 

There is life in a mussel as lang as she cheeps. 

There is little for the rake after the school. 

They are ay gude that are far awa. 

They are like the grices, if ye kittle their wame they fa' 

on their backs. 
They hae need o' a canny cook that hae but ae egg to their 

dinner. 
They ne'er saw great dainties that think a haggis a feast. 
They shou'd kiss the gude- wife that wad win the gude-mam 
They that see you a* day winna break the house for you 

at night. 
T:iey that get a word o soon rising may lie a day. 
They that laugh in the morning may greet ere night. 
They that drink langest live langest. 
They that hae rowth o' butter may lay it thick on their 

scon. 
They that lie down for love shou'd rise for hunger. 
They were scant o' bairns that brought you up. 
They were never fain that fidg d, nor fu that licked dishes. 
They ne'er ga'e wi' the speet but they gat wi' the ladle. 
Thole weel is gude for burning. 
Thoughts beguile maidens. 
Three can keep a secret if twa be awa. 
Time and tide will tarry for nae man. 
Time tries a . 
Tine heart and a's gane. 

Touch a gaw'd horse on the back and he'll fling. 
Tramp on a snail and she'll shoot out her horns. 



278 

True blue will ne'er stain. 

Twa blacks will ne'er mak ae white. 

Twine tow, your minny was a gude spinner. 

U 

Up hill spare me, down hill tak tent to thee. 
Use makes perfectness. 

W 

Wae's the wife that wants the tongue, but weel's the man 

that gets her. 
Weans maun creep ere they g&ng. 
Wedding and ill wintering tame baith man and beast. 
Weel kens the mouse when the cat's out o' the house. 
Welcome's the best dish in the kitchen. 
We'll ne'er ken the worth o' the water till the well gae 

dry. 
We're aye to learn as lang's we live. 
We'll bark oursels ere we buy dogs sae dear. 
We canna baith sup and blaw. 

We may ken your eild by the runkles o' your horn. 
We may ken your meaning by your mumping. 
What's gotten owre the deil's back will gang awa under 

his belly. 
When ae door steeks anither opens. 
When drink s in wit's out. 
When friends meet hearts warm. 
When the toad preaches tak tent o' the lambs. 
When the wame's fou, the banes wad be at rest. 
When petticoats woo, breeks come speed. 
When you're ser'd a* the geese are water'd. 
When ye' re gaun and coming the gat ':«. no toom. 
Where the dyke's laighest it is eithest to loup. 






279 

Where there's owre muckle courtesy, there's little kindness* 

Wilfu* wast', maks waefu want. 

Winter thunder bodes simmer hunger. 

Women's warks ne'er done. 

Woo sellers ken ay woo buyers. 

Work for nought maks fo'k dead swere. 



Ye're as lang o ? tuning your pipes as ane wad play a spring. 
Ye cam a day after the fair. 
Ye cut lang whangs out o' ither fo'k's leather. 
Ye canna preach out o' your ain pupit. 
Ye canna get leave to thrive for thrang. 
Ye drive the plough before the owsen. 
Ye didna lick your lips since you lied last. 
Ye fand it where the Highlandman fand the tangs. 
Ye hae gi en the wolf the wedder to keep. 
Ye hae sitten your time, as mony a gude hen has done; 
Ye hae oer foul feet to come sae far ben. 
Ye hae gotten a revel'd hesp o't. 
Ye hae a crap for a corn. 

Ye hae tint your ain stomach and fund a tike's. 
Ye hae the rang sow by the lug. 
Ye ken what drinkers dree. 
Ye kenna what may cool your kail yet. 
Yelping curs will raise mastiffs. 
Ye may get waur bodes or Belton. 
Ye may dight your neb and flee up. 
Ye mete my pease by your ain peck. 
Ye ne'er saw green cheese but your een reel'd. 
Ye ride sae near the rumple ye 11 let nane loup on behint 
you. 



280 

Ye're like the miller's dog, ye lick your lips ere the pocK 

be opened. 
Ye're nae chicken for a' your cheeping. 
Yere come o y blude, and sae's a pudding. 
Ye're sae keen o' the clocking you'll die in the nest. 
Ye're like the hens, ye rin ay to the heap. 
Ye re mair fley'd than hurt. 
Ye shape shoon by your ain shachel'd feet. 
Ye watna what wife's ladle may cogue your kail. 
Your bread's baken, you may hing by your girdle. 




GLASGOW: 

PRI5T1ED BY R. CHAPMAKT. 

1814. 



^o^i^Mi 



